Mortal Kombat: Vengeance
by SoulViper11192
Summary: A rivalry that needs to end if they are to survive. Two evils that must be stopped before they complete their goals. And three plots that will eventually collide with a devastating force. Sorry, bad at summaries. Full one inside. R&R please!
1. The Beginning

**Mortal Kombat: Vengeance**

**I just had an idea for this story and I just feel like trying it out. Review please and let me know what you think. Thanx.**

**The Story:**

_**The Rivalry...**_ Two boys, two ninjas, are set against each other by their fathers in order to see their skill and what they have learnt in training.

_**The Revenge...**_ But, unbeknownst to them, two evils plan their revenge deep in the Nether Realms against two ninja who took their victory. They will have their victory by any means necessary. Sub-Zero and Scorpion must die.

_**The Plan... **_Now the two boys find themselves trapped in another world, far from their parents, far from their clans, who are being deceived into killing each other. And only the boys know the truth, only they can stop the coming slaughter. But if they cannot best their hatred for each other, can they truly find their way out of the Nether Realms, away from its demons? And can they do it in time to stop this deception?

* * *

**Mortal Kombat: Vengeance**

**The Beginning:**

I am an Elder God. Or I was an Elder God. I have decided to record the events of the realms in writing so that one day, if peace is finally reached, the descendants of these fighters may know the struggle that their ancestors went through in order to stop the wars. But like all great things, this story starts of with a small moment in the history of the realms – but a moment that would cause great difficulty in the road ahead.

Years ago, there were many great fighters in the realms, but their constant battle had caused a tear within the realms, one that would eventually destroy everything in existence if was not stopped. Because of this, Argus (the god who protected Edenia) and his wife, Delia (a powerful sorceress) formed a plan surrounding both their sons, Taven and Daegon. They would send their sons into a deep sleep and have them awaken centauries later where they would face off with Blaze, a fire-spawn created by Delia to save the realms.

Both brothers received armour which was the key to the events that would unfold. If Blaze was defeated, the armour would absorb his power and set off one of two reactions. The first reaction would have all the kombatants stripped of their power. The second reaction? Death. But, there was something that Argus and Delia did not foresee. The will of a man with nothing to lose but everything to gain.

Blaze resided on the top of a great pyramid which had risen in Edenia. Everyone believed that whoever beat Blaze would get a gift worthy of a god. However, to make it to the top of the pyramid, they would need to face all the other kombatants as well as both brothers for the prize – and for their lives. Scorpion was amoung those fighters and his goal was greater than any others and, in a sense, more noble. While all the other kombatants wished for power, a fighting edge and the destruction of their enemies, Scorpion wanted one thing… his family.

He fought long and hard, climbing each step of the pyramid, never giving in. He faced the likes of Quan Chi in a battle of hellfire and necromancy, the Oni Demons, Drahmin and Moloch, in a battle of strength and strategy, and even Sub-Zero in a battle of speed and skill. Eventually, he made it to the top and the realms held their breath as the battle between the spectre and the fire-spawn began. The battle was destructive, fire blowing chucks of rock out of the pyramid. Skills that Scorpion had never revealed to his opponents were forced to show themselves if he wished to defeat this enemy. Finally, Blaze managed to knock Scorpion down and it seemed the spectre had failed. But as I said above, he was a man with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Beaten and bruised, with a broken arm, he warrior pulled himself to his feet. He drew his blade and with only one arm, he vowed to destroy Blaze. The epic clash continued and Scorpion's body was taking too much damage. He felt the strain it was taking and soon, it would not be able to maintain itself in this realm. If he did not end this now, he would return to the Nether Realm and everything he endured would be for nothing.

In a last ditch effort, Scorpion ran for Blaze and clashed. The fire-spawn erupted in a massive explosion in order to destroy scorpion once and for all. When the bright light had disappeared and the dust had settled, everyone waited in suspense for Blaze to emerge. But when the smoke cleared, Scorpion stood their, his blade plunged through Blaze's heart. The spectre had been completely engulfed in flames, but his ability over fire allowed him to manipulate the fire to surround, instead of demolish, him. Blaze let out a shout before he exploded into a wave of power, knocking everyone except Scorpion off the pyramid. Everyone watch as the smoke cleared once more to see an amazing sight. A massive group of people had covered the pyramid. He had not only revived his wife and child, but he had revived his entire clan.

The Elder Gods consulted one another and together, we decided to let him keep his prize. But the fate of the realms still hung in the balance. Something had to be done. So, I made a sacrifice, giving up my godly powers to strengthen the realms for centauries to come. The Elder Gods thought that this was it, no matter how much war comes; the realms would not be disrupted again for a very long time. But we were wrong…

Eleven years later, an event would come to pass and while insignificant at the time, it would affect all the realms… and possibly destroy them.

**Thanx for reading. As I said, this is experimental so let me know what you again.**


	2. Chapter 1: The Cover Of Darkness

**Mortal Kombat: Vengeance**

I just had an idea for this story and I just feel like trying it out. Review please and let me know what you think. Thanx.

Also, at the bottom of every chapter, I'm going to ask a question concerning the chapter just to see if I can improve anywhere. So if you do review, I'd appreciate if you answered the question. But don't worry, you don't have. All you need to do is enjoy the story.

**Mortal Kombat: Vengeance**

**Chapter 1: The Cover Of Darkness **

Noob Saibot felt strange being back at this clan's hideout. The Lin Kuei… a clan of honorable warriors and ninja. It made him sick! Years before, they were known for their ruthlessness; assassins trained to kill with no mercy, no regard for life. And now… now they were hired to protect instead of kill, defend instead of assault and rescue instead of torture. Ever since Kuai Liang – otherwise known as Sub-Zero – had taken over the clan as Grandmaster, he had turned them from a feared organization into a laughing stock. Noob grunted at himself. As much as he wanted to go in and rip Sub-Zero's head clean off, he could not. His mission was to infiltrate and retrieve a document, that was all.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Noob's partner in crime, the elusive cyborg, Smoke, was sneaking into another clan. His mission was the same, but the clan was clearly different and he had no hatred towards their leader. In fact, he had tried his best not to run into this clan's leader. Because the leader of the Shirai Ryu was Hanzo Hasashi, otherwise known as Scorpion, the spectre who plowed his way through countless enemies, reaching the top of the pyramid in order to destroy the fire-spawn, Blaze. And in the end, he had succeeded, much to the disappointment of the person who had hired Noob and Smoke.

Both ninja's infiltrate the temples – one covered in ice and the other still hot from the afternoon sun – from the roof. They descended the places quickly, dodging enemies. It was harder for Smoke by far. He had attacked at night, not taking into account that every corridor would be lit up like a Christmas tree. Noob had hit the temple in the day time, but it was a very cloudy day in the ice wasteland and the temple had many shadows and many more dark places. His abilities over darkness came in handy. He put his back to a wall that had a shadow and concentrated his chi. Every living creature has a certain amount of chi which is like an energy capable of being formed physically in order to perform techniques and some are skilled enough to manipulate it in very advanced ways, using a very specific element. Like Sub-Zero can manipulate ice and Scorpion can control fire, Noob had a little element of his own. Darkness. And by concentrating, Noob had developed the perfect way around this temple. Using his chi, infusing it with his outer body, Noob merged with the shadow of the wall and moved at lightning speed passed everyone and anything that would have possibly stood in his way. He was just a passing shadow, only seen by the most skillful of warriors. And in Noob's eyes, there wasn't a lot of skill in this clan… not anymore.

He searched through each room, trying to find what he was looking for until, finally, after seeing training exercises, battle scenarios and new recruits breaking under the pressure of being a ninja, the assassin had found his target. The document that was lying on one of Sub-Zero's general's desks. Noob watched as the general was sifting through his papers, searching for something.

_I guess we both have something in common_, Noob thought as he circled the room, coming up behind the general.

He was wearing a typical blue ninja suit which this clan was truly fond of. Noob had a wicked look in his eyes as his head and arms slowly emerged from the dark of the wall, like something out of a nightmare stretching from a void, a monster ready to strike at any moment. He brought his hands closer the man's neck and practically smelled death as he thought of murdering the general. The assassin was going on a natural high. However, he was knocked back to reality when he remembered what his client had said: _"You cannot kill anyone. If they so much as catch a whiff of you there, this mission would have been for nothing." _Damn her and her pathetic schemes! Noob was an assassin, a born killer. And yet…

He retreated back into the wall and waited for the general to leave. He emerged completely this time and searched for the document he was sent to retrieve. He found it and turned around. The wall was covered in ice and Noob saw his reflection. His attire was a black, long-sleeved vest. He had metal wrist guards and shoulder pads to defend himself, both black with metal rims which were a dull silver colour. They were light and provided minimum defence, but a light defence is better than no defence at all. A giant sash was wrapped around his waist and two thick strips of black fabric (which had dull-silver edges) made their way from the shoulder pads to the middle of his waist, making a V across his body. He wore comfortable black shoes with no laces and had black shin guards with a silver metal cup around the knee cap to protect it. The bottom part of his baggy black pants was tucked into the shin guards. The mask that covered his face – leaving only the area of his eyes visible – was made of black fabric with a metal piece covering the nose and mouth which had tiny breathing holes, making up a criss-cross pattern on mask. His wrist guards had what looked like a warped, metal dragon patterned onto it.

Noob was ready to merge with the wall again, but he noticed something else in the ice wall's reflection. He hadn't noticed it before for some odd reason but a knife had been plunged into the desk. He turned and looked at it, but the knife wasn't the interesting thing. It was what it was stabbing. The knife was plunged into a picture of a woman in her early thirties. Clearly the general was angry at her for some reason. She was gifted with electrifying blue eyes that seemed to see straight into the soul. Her smile, while happy, seemed to have a disturbing undertone. She had long black hair that was swaying in one direction – the wind must have been blowing that day – and a suspicious look on her face. He looked at the file next to her picture. It was an investigative report from one of the Lin Kuei's spies, who was following Sierra Liang around. That seemed very strange to Noob. Why was the Lin Kuei spying on Sub-Zero's wife – one of their leaders? She was a powerful sorceress and Sub-Zero had met, and married, her shortly after Blaze's death. Noob didn't know much about her, but why would he care? However, with that being said, curiosity is a powerful thing and Noob wanted to see what this spy had dug up. He opened the file and read it to himself. His eyes went wide, but then they changed and anyone could tell that under his mask, Noob was smirking. He was definitely smirking.

"Interesting…" He whispered to himself. "I think she will want to see this."

And with that, Noob took that file as well and merged with the wall again, moving at lightning speed out of the temple. No one would have known he was even there until it was too late.

Meanwhile, back at the Shirai Ryu compound, Smoke moved stealthily through the corridors, trying not to be caught. There were too many flames burning, not leaving a hint of darkness that he could use. He couldn't put them out either – not without raising suspicion – but he needed to think of a plan quickly. He managed to get to the room he needed to get to, but there were at least four ninja in there and he couldn't kill them. It wasn't beyond his ability, it was just against orders. However, he remembered passing a room where a lone ninja was meditating in. He was young ninja, no more than eighteen years of age and Noob suddenly had a great idea.

The ninja only had baggy pants on, nothing else. No socks or shoes, no mask or helmet and definitely no shirt. He clearly trained his body daily because the muscles were very visible. His mind, however, must not have been as well trained because it took him a full minute to notice he was no longer alone. And in a ninja's world, sixty seconds was more than enough for death to claim them. In a flash, he was on his feet, ready to battle. The intruder who stood in front of him made him stare in shock. The assailant wore a black and grey metal mask which had glowing red eyes. He also had the same coloured wrist guards and long black pants. He had two grey shoulder pads with black rims and two thick strips of grey fabric (with black edges) which started at each shoulder pad and met at the middle of his waist, making a V on his torso just like Noob. He seemed like a normal ninja, but his body is what scared the Shirai Ryu member. The man's body, the thing that connected the pieces of clothing, was not solid… it was a grayish-black smoke! Even his arms – from the shoulder pads down to the wrist guards – were just smoke. But even though it didn't look solid, the ninja still stood there, in one piece.

Even though no one could see it, Smoke grinned at the youth's frightened expression. "You can go ahead and call for back-up. I won't think any less of you."

His voice sounded robotic, almost like he was some kind of android. But even so, the guy could definitely hear the taunting tone within Smoke's voice. He readied himself, prepared to kill this intruder.

"Well, well," Smoke began. "Someone is feeling brave. Do me a favour: keel over and pretend to be dead and maybe I won't kill you."

Smoke knew he'd never agree to that. In fact, Smoke counted on it. He needed this guy to attack him if his plans were going to get anywhere. Smoke was a skilled ninja and could read this youngster like a children's book. He was going to be easy to take down. Smoke could almost smell the guy's fear – he could definitely see it in his eyes. He must not have been in too many battles in the past. Too bad, he might have been a great ninja… if he wasn't going to die today.

"Tell you what," Smoke said. "Come at me. If you land one hit on me, I will give myself in. While that doesn't seem like much, I assure you it is. Hanzo Hasashi, your leader, Scorpion, will be very interested in someone like me."

"Why is that?" the ninja asked.

"We were at the battle against Blaze together," Smoke replied, much to the youngster's surprise. "Of course, I didn't win, clearly."

"So this is revenge?"

"Please, I couldn't care less. I'm being paid to retrieve something and you're going to help me."

"Never!"

Smoke chuckled under his breath. "We'll see… Now come at me."

The youngster didn't wait another second and dashed for Smoke, pulling fist back. He swung, but Smoke tilted his head to the side, dodging the attack. He attacked again, but Smoke just blocked the attacked. He dropped to the floor, trying to trip the cyborg who just jumped. He then came up and jumped, spinning in the air, trying to give a round-house kick. But Smoke saw it coming and ducked as his feet hit the floor. He moved for Smoke again, who just deflected the next attack and landed a bunch straight onto the boy's cheek, knocking him back.

"You want to try that again?" Some taunted. And it worked.

The guy held his fist up in the air and concentrated. Smoke watched in silence as he waited for something to happen. Suddenly, the boy's hand ignited in a ball of flame. Smoke knew the attack; the fire fist was one of the first abilities that Shirai Ryu taught its students. It was also quite devastating if it hit its target. Too bad this kid would never get him. The ninja looked Smoke dead in the eye and charged. He pulled his fist back as far as possible and pushed it forward as he reached Smoke. Smoke easily dodged the attack, ready too taunt the opponent once more, until he saw that the youngster was smiling. Smoke soon saw the shocking truth as the guy moved his other fist, also on fire, towards him.

Smoke had jumped out of the way of the first attack and wasn't fast enough to dodge this one. The boy smashed his flaming fist directing into Smoke's stomach, but instead of burning the enemy, his fist went straight through the smoke that made up Smoke's body. The boy was shocked as he looked at his arm, which had traveled through the hole in Smoke's body. But, the more shocking thing was that his fist didn't go through the smoke, but the smoke instead moved out of the way. And now… now it was closing in! At an unimaginable speed, the smoke enclosed around his arm, gripping it, holding it in place, stuck in the body of the enemy. But that was impossible; smoke wasn't a solid substance or any type of goo. But then why was it crushing his wrist? Why couldn't he rip his arm out?

Smoke laughed loudly; he couldn't help it. The look on this kid's face was worth being caught and losing his money. The guy was so shocked; he couldn't fathom what had just happened.

"That was very impressive," Smoke said as the boy struggled. "Seriously, if you had hit me, it would have hurt."

"But… But…" The boy had no words.

Smoke laughed his mechanical laugh again. "My body isn't made up of smoke. I was human, like you, but I was turned into this machine, this cyborg using tiny little machines. The smoke you see connecting my body is created by the millions of tiny nano-bots that course through my veins. When you attacked my torso, they simply moved out the way and then came back, trapping you. That is why your wrist feels as though something is crushing it. It is not some illusion, some trick. Rest assured, while it may seem that my body is made of a vapour, it is made of very solid machines. They might be tiny, but they are there."

The anger in the boy's eyes could easily be seen. He was caught, fooled into thinking he had won. He swung his other arm at Smoke, but the cyborg caught the boy's fist in his hand. Now he had no arms and Smoke had one left. Perfect.

"Help…" But the ninja never got the word out as Smoke's palm slammed into his mouth, his hand clutching the boy's face.

"I don't think so," Smoke said, tightening his grip. "I offered you help before this fight began and you refused. Now, you will face me alone. Consider it punishment for your arrogance." Tears began to form in the teen's eyes. "Oh, relax. I'm not going to kill you." The boy seemed to tense less. "But, your own clan is." The boy's eyes went wide with fright once more. "You see, as we speak, the nano-bots that I mentioned before have already escaped my hand and entered your body through your mouth. Don't try to tighten your lips now, it's too late. You see, the bots search through your body until they find your mind. There, they tamper with your brain, basically infecting it, uploading a command given by me. In a way, it is a form of mind control and anyone I infect must follow orders like the obedient puppets they are. However, there is a downside. I can only issue one command, not control you completely. Therefore, the command I issue you is to kill everyone that is in this temple, excluding me, of course. Can you do that for me?" Smoke chuckled at the rhetorical question. "Of course you can. After all, you don't have much of a choice."

Just as he finished his last line, Smoke saw it in the boy's eyes. They had stopped paying attention to Smoke, as though he was no longer there mentally. And his wasn't. The bots had completed their task. Now, it was time he completed his. He released the boy and led him to the strategy room with the four ninja. The boy entered the room slowly, weapons in hand. But the four ninja – as cocky as ever – saw no threat.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Leave kid, before we take you to Scorpion."

"Or better yet, we could just kill you ourselves."

"Maybe cut him to pieces with his own blade."

The four laughed hysterically, as though they had cracked the funniest jokes in the world. Until the teen's blade came down, slicing into one of them. The ninja didn't even have time to scream in pain before he died. Smoke then made his appearance, throwing a shuriken – a ninja star – into one of the opponent's necks. The ninja dropped dead. The third one was gutted by the youngster and the fourth didn't know what to do – go after Smoke or the kid? Smoke never knew if he had decided, because the cyborg through another shuriken at the man, who easily dodged it. Too bad he couldn't dodge the blade that killed him. The boy looked around, all four ninja dead. He turned around and moved passed Smoke. He had to kill more intruders.

Smoke was satisfied with himself as he searched for the document he wanted and found it. He picked it up and moved out, thinking of the kid. It was a shame, really. He could have turned out to be such a great ninja…

If he didn't have to die today.

**Thanx for reading, please review and let me know what you think. Did you like the characters: Noob and Smoke?**


	3. Chapter 2: Fire And Ice

**Mortal Kombat: Vengeance**

I just had an idea for this story and I just feel like trying it out. Review please and let me know what you think. Thanx.

**Mortal Kombat: Vengeance**

**Chapter 2: Fire And Ice**

"Did you get them?"

Noob and Smoke walked in at the same time, side by side, preparing for the heat to hit them. They hated this place. It was in the side of a mountain deep within the Nether Realms, a cave that seemed to share itself with a dormant volcano. It was hot and dirty and smoky and it just aggravated both ninja. Every inch of this place was a distraction. Had they been attacked by Oni Demons – dwellers of the Nether Realms – who were use to this type of environment, they would be finished. However, their boss, who ironically enjoyed the heat, didn't worry about anything. Well, there was one concern.

"Did you get them?" she asked again. Her pale blue eyes penetrated their bodies. They felt as though they were under attack when all she was doing was just looking at them. She knew how they felt. She enjoyed it that way.

"Yes," Smoke replied. "Do you have our money?"

"Your job is not done yet." Her voice was cold, threatening. It almost made the heat of the room die down. "This was only the first part. Now, can I have the files?"

Smoke handed over his file first, followed by Noob. They looked at her finger tips, which were blue, as though she had been out in the arctic too long. Her lips were the same, a frozen blue and her skin, pale, white as snow actually. She took the files and looked through them carefully. She was silent for a while, studying the details, taking everything in. The mission briefings were thorough, stating times, places, strategies, possible risks and even unexpected obstacles. These people were perfectionists. She continued reading to find something very interesting. This more than just a simple mission. She could definitely work with this. She looked up at the two and then back down, before looking back at Noob's hand. Was he holding another file?

"And what is that?"

"I figured you'd want to see this." She held out her hand, but he stepped back. "No. I want extra money for this. Now."

She gave him an unpleasantly cold stare that could freeze the very volcano they were standing next to. Who the hell did this ninja think he was? She could kill him in a second if she wanted and he knew it. It drove him mad. Ten years ago, he would have been able to take her with no problem. Now… something had changed. She had trained continuously; trying to become stronger, develop new techniques, stronger techniques that she could use against her enemy. Her target. There was no way he could beat her. And they both knew it.

"How about I just kill you and take it?" she threatened, holding her hand out.

"We thought you might say that."

"We?"

"Yes. I told Smoke about this before we came in and he had an incredible idea." And then he did something that she never expected. He placed the file into Smoke's torso and the mist seemed to swallow it whole. "The nano-bots will tear that file apart before you can do anything. Now, the money."

She stared at them, but then turned around and began walking away. "Then forget it. It's probably not important anyway."

"It's about Sierra Liang," Smoke said quickly, stopping her in her tracks. "If I'm not mistaken, she is one of the main obstacles in your plan, is she not?"

She turned around, now interested in this file. Sierra was a major problem. Her sorcery was extremely powerful and Noob could see that his employer was not sure if her partner – who they had not met yet – could take on Sub-Zero's wife. Noob watched her considering whether she should make a plan to get the file or to just pay the two. She could always just attack, take a chance, try to get the file by force. But it wouldn't work. Highly unlikely.

"Fine," she said, giving in. "I'll bring the money in twenty-four hours."

"Thank you," Noob replied. "That's all we wanted from you, Frost."

* * *

No one quite knew how the fight began or what the reason behind it was. But everyone was there to see it. The rumor around The Academy was that the fight was brewing between both boys for a few months now. Some words were said, a shove here and there and before anyone knew what was going on, they were fighting on the great bridge which connected both parts of The Academy. On either side, every other student stopped to watch the fight between not only the two boys but the clans they represented. The Lin Kuei versus The Shirai Ryu.

Kashiko Liang was the younger of the two boys. He was ten-years-old, the son of Sub-Zero and Sierra. He was born a year after their marriage and, like his father, the boy took a liking to manipulating ice. His hair was jet black and messy. The sides just went passed his ears, the back just up to his neck and a few piece fell in front of his forehead, almost in front of his eyes. He even had to blow up a few times to keep his hair from blocking his view. His eyes were a deep, electrifying blue which were said could freeze people in their tracks. Not literally. That was just how amazing they seemed. They lit up in the sunlight and seemed to radiate a special glow in the light of the moon. His skin was fair (not as pale as some would imagine), and it seemed to compliment the boy. He had an innocent face and was a small, lean boy. No one would have thought him to be a ninja. No one would have thought him to be anything aggressive. But he had to become a ninja. It was his goal. He needed to prove to the world that he could be great, as great as his father. Maybe even greater. Everyone looked at him as a weakling and he was tired of it. He wanted to prove, he needed to prove, that he was the best. And, in his eyes, if he defeated this opponent, he would be.

Daitan Hasashi, son of Scorpion. If anything, he was the opposite of Kashiko. The thirteen-year-old stood tall and was tanned well. He had slightly dark blonde hair which was cut short and gelled up. No one was quite sure if it was real, and no one wanted to ask, but his hair seemed to have a fiery-red shine to it. His eyes were the same. It was said that they used to be green, but now they were a striking swirl of light orange, yellow and red, and the blend of these colors made it seem as though a flame had been set inside his eyes. Most people who saw them stared in awe, describing them as gems with a perfect mix of colours. Others described them as the eyes of a demon. His expression was even different from his opponent. Daitan had sharp features, always looking tense, always looking hostile. He hardly ever smiled. No one knew why, but many could take an educated guess. Daitan should have been much older than he was now, but he and his mother were killed by a sorceress named Quan Chi when he was two-years-old. Years after that, Scorpion, his father, fought Blaze atop of a great pyramid. When he won, Daitan returned to the world of the living. But he had changed. Emotionally, mentally. But specifically, physically. His eyes had changed to a hellfire. His curly, light blonde hair had gone darker, been perfectly straighten, cut short and styled up – that was fine, he liked it that way. His body, as he grew, began to gain muscle, even with months of slacking off. He was not big and under clothes no one could know how physically fit he was. But every muscle in his body was alive, always maintaining its strength, never giving it. His bones had even become somewhat harder to break, though it was not impossible. At The Academy, he was the kid to beat in his class, the one who never lost a battle. If you stood up to Daitan, you were either strong or stupid. As far as anyone knew, it was rumoured that he only had two weaknesses. And that is why he was sent to The Academy.

The Academy rose up five years after Blaze's death. It was there to train fighters for Earth Realm, but to also teach them discipline and educate them as well. They needed to ensure that while Earth Realm was safe from all enemies, their fighters would not attempt to tear the fabric of the realms again. In a way, it was erected to teach, but also somewhat control, fighters. Many also went there to become stronger to participate in the next Mortal Kombat Tournament, if another had ever come. Since before Blaze's death, there has not been a tournament, but there were rumours that it would be making a comeback in a few years and the next generation of fighters had to be ready for anything. Just like Daitan and Kashiko.

There had always been a rivalry between the pair. Whether it was because of their clans, their differences or just because they don't like each other, the rivalry was there. And now it had escalated and here they were, battling it out. Daitan stared at Kashiko who was on the other side of the bridge. He smirked, almost chuckling. This kid had guts to attack him. He would never admit it, but he was impressed so far. Kashiko attacked first, trying to get a hit, which Daitan blocked easily. In fact, it wasn't even a challenge in the beginning until Kashiko finally landed a hit. After that, Daitan blocked every attack, before kicking Kashiko away. Daitan then jumped into the air as his opponent got up and threw shuriken down. Kashiko moved back, barely dodging the attack before he tripped and tumbled back. Now they were standing at either ends of the bridge, waiting for each other.

"Well," Daitan began in his typically arrogant tone. "Are you going to come for me this year? Or has the sorry excuse for a ninja given up?"

"Shut up!" Kashiko tried to control his temper, but he couldn't. Daitan just got under his skin. His superior attitude, his egotistical smirk, how his eyes never betrayed any negative emotion, be it fear or anger. The only thing was his hostility, but that was constantly present.

"Well, aren't we in a bad mood?" he replied, sarcasm clearly in his voice. "Why are you doing this? You know that you're just going to embarrass yourself."

"Not when I beat you."

Daitan laughed. "Over my dead body. I bet you can't even land another hit on me."

"You're on!" Kashiko dashed forward, going as fast as he could. He reached Daitan and jumped, twisting his body, flinging his leg out. Daitan dodged the kick and moved forward to hit Kashiko as hit touched the ground. The younger of the two dodged the attack and tried to karate-chop the side of Daitan's neck. He blocked the attack and countered with one of his own. Kashiko jumped back, barely dodging the attack. He drew his shuriken and threw them. At such close range, Daitan was sure he couldn't dodge it completely. And he was right. He moved out of the way, but three of them scraped his side, leaving drops of blood rolling down his body. Daitan grunted, leaving Kashiko smirking, very satisfied with himself.

"I think I landed another hit on you," Kashiko taunted.

Daitan shot a lethal look at his opponent. "Now you're dead."

Daitan moved fast, swinging his fist. Kashiko ducked, dodging the attack, but he didn't see Daitan's knee until it slammed into his stomach, taking the air out of him. He punched the Lin Kuei apprentice and then gave him an upper-cut. Kashiko backed away but Daitan just moved for him, jumping up and stretching his leg out. It connected with Kashiko's chest, knocking the kid onto the ground. Kashiko coughed, trying to get up. Daitan was abnormally strong for his age. Kashiko felt as though a truck had hit him, not a kick. Strength wasn't his main thing. He couldn't take this enemy with brute force. Kashiko got on all fours and kicked against the ground, allowing him to stand on just his hands. He then bent them and pushed out, flipping away from Daitan. The Shirai Ryu apprentice moved for his enemy, but Kashiko spun around and threw both his hands out. A bluish-white blast erupted from his hands, heading straight for Daitan.

_An ice blast_, Daitan thought as he dodged the attack. _That thing touches me and I'll be an easy target. It won't freeze me indefinitely, but it will cover me in frost, making me stiff. I can't let this loser get that advantage._

Kashiko shot another blast which Daitan dodged easily. He stopped moving, staring at his opponent. He then slammed his palms together, in front of his chest, as though saying a prayer. His hands slowly separated, a ball of red energy forming between them. Before anyone knew it, the energy had become a ball of fire, like a tiny son burning in his palms. Kashiko bent down, making a ball of energy in his hand too. But he did something different. He separated his hands, ripping the ball into two smaller ones. He then crushed the balls as he closed his hands into fists. The energy seemed to surround his hands now, instead of disperse as most expected. Daitan ran for his opponent, ready to attack head on. He fired the blast and continued to run. He was planning to hit Kashiko after the kid dodged the blast. But Kashiko had other plans. He punched the air with his energy covered fist, shooting off an ice blast. He fired the second one too. The first collided with the fire ball, destroying them both. The second, however, flew straight for Daitan, who tried to dodge it. The blast hit his arm and exploded, covering it in a thin layer of ice. He tried to move it, but it was difficult. The ice cracked, but even so, moving his arm was painful. It was cold and the ice was scratching him as he moved.

"Damn it," he whispered. It seemed this kid wasn't as bad as Daitan had thought. _This kid… he uses his blast so easily. And he's smiling on top of it. I guess what he lacks physically, he makes up for with his chi._

"Well," Kashiko began, with extreme sarcasm. "Are you going to come for me this year? Or has the sorry excuse for a ninja given up?"

Daitan was surprised to hear his own words repeated to him. It was not enough that this kid hit him, but now he was taunting him too. Mocking him! That was enough. It was time to end this. Daitan smirked, much to Kashiko's surprise. He raised his normal hand into the air and, surprising most, it burst into flames. He made a fist and brought his hand down, preparing for his attack. Kashiko raised his hand and a pebble of ice – real ice – formed in it. He then began to move his fingers, as though molding clay in one hand, but the stone of ice was too small for his fingers to even touch without effort. He put it behind his back, hiding it from his enemy. But it didn't matter to Daitan. The ninja apprentice ran for Kashiko, who in turn, dashed for his enemy too. Daitan was confused. Usually people would be trying to avoid this attack, not run straight for it. Kashiko couldn't possibly reach with his own fist; Daitan's arms were longer. Maybe he was just acting brave. Or stupid. If you were hit by this flaming fist, it not only hurt, but burnt into the very flesh, leaving a scar of the battle. If they survived. Sometimes the fire was so powerful it would burn a hole into the body, down to the organs themselves. Daitan couldn't do that yet. His attack wasn't even close to that powerful, but it was good enough for now.

They approached quickly, both jumping off the ground, ready to hit each other. Daitan pulled his fist back, knowing that between both of them, he would hit first. But then he saw it. Kashiko revealed his hand, a dagger in it now. One with quite a long blade. Where did it come from? Was it ice? Was it long enough to reach Daitan's body before his fist reached Kashiko's chest? If it was, no one would ever know. As The Academy's students held their breath to see what would happen, no one even noticed something appear between both boys. The something was actually a ninja. He was wearing a mask that covered his head, leaving only the top have of his face visible. The piece covering his mouth was a dark yellow and his eye had no pupils. They were just white and nothing more. He was wearing baggy black pants that were tucked into the shin guards. He was wearing a black vest which was tucked into the pants. He had metal shin guards, shoulders guards and even guards on his thighs. The rims where dark gold. Two thick strips of dark yellow fabric made their way down from the shoulder pads to the waist – making the V that is frequently seen with ninja – and then meeting, making one strip that went down. The V and the end strip were separated by a belt with a metal buckle that had a symbol a scorpion on it.

The ninja just appeared out of thin air and grabbed the arms of both boys, twisting around and flinging them away from one another. They hit the rock-hard ground just as his feet touched it. He stood up straight, waiting for the boys to rise, staring at the audience who was staring back in awe. This man was from the Shirai Ryu, but he was not just any ninja. He was the man who defeated Blaze, the man who resurrected his entire clan. He was their Grandmaster. He was Scorpion.

"Father?" Daitan said as he got to his feet.

Scorpion looked at his son, but with nothing but white in his eyes, no one was quite sure what he was thinking. Funny enough, he was having the same thought about his son.

"What were you thinking?" He asked, his voice sounding as though it were a harsh echo coming from some abyss.

Daitan got to his feet. "He attacked me first."

Scorpion stepped closer to lower his voice. "Did you provoke him?"

"Yes!" Kashiko shouted as he stood up, staring at Scorpion. The word just slipped out and he knew it was a mistake. Scorpion was one of the most powerful people in Earthrealm. To fight him would be a suicide mission. "I…"

"Relax," Scorpion replied noticing the boy's fear. "I'm not going to fight you. You're Sub-Zero's son, correct?"

"Ye…Yes, Grandmaster Scorpion," Kashiko replied, not knowing what to call the man. He was nervous, shifting from foot to foot, trying to pretend to be comfortable.

"Why do you call me Grandmaster when you are not Shirai Ryu? Do you have no loyalty to your own clan?"

"No, no, no," Kashiko mumbled. This man truly struck fear into his heart. He stood their, arms pressed against his side, not sure if he should bow or run. "I am a Lin Kuei warrior. I fight for my clan. But… you are a Grandmaster. What should I call you?"

Scorpion stared at the boy, thinking of a reply, but he never answered his question. "Go to the south entrance of The Academy."

"Me?" Kashiko said, looking around to see if anyone else was near.

"Yes. A Lin Kuei escort is waiting to take you home."

"Why?"

"Part of being a good ninja – a good warrior – is to know how to find your own information. Now go. The Headmaster knows you will be leaving." He turned to Daitan. "We should be going to."

"We're leaving as well?" Daitan asked.

"Yes," Scorpion replied, looking at Kashiko again. "Why are you still here?"

"Um…" Kashiko bowed slightly and took off, running as fast as he could. No one could blame him. Even when he was being nice, Scorpion had an uncomfortable feel about him.

When Kashiko was finally out of sight, Scorpion turned and began walking the other way. The crowded separated, making a path for the ninja to walk through. Daitan was right behind him.

* * *

The sun was cooking them – or it was cooking Daitan at least. The day was hot and long and very very tiring. Daitan and Scorpion had been walking for over four hours. Two more and they'd be back home. The Shirai Ryu temple had been close to The Academy which was one of the reasons why Scorpion, Grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu, could personally fetch Daitan. The second reason was that Daitan was his son and his wife was never happy when Scorpion didn't retrieve the boy himself. She was worried and Daitan understood why. Quan Chi, a powerful sorcerer who had killed Daitan and his family, came after the boy shortly after his resurrection. Daitan remembers being pushed into a hiding spot by his mother. From there, he assumes he imagined the battle between Quan Chi and his own mother. He saw shadows of dragon- and wolf-like creatures fighting the sorcerer. But that was impossible. Some of the creatures he had seen were distorted and looked like mutated monsters. It was a figment of his imagination but he knew one thing… his mother had some how beaten back the man who had once killed them. Since then, she threatened Scorpion every time he refused to escort Daitan home.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn," Daitan remembered his father saying to him countless times. "And I have been to hell, my son. You would be surprised how true that saying is."

Daitan smirked, letting out a little chuckle as they walked. He always thought that was funny. Kind of funny. He looked at his father. Scorpion use to be feared and he use to be ruthless. He would strike at his enemies hard and strike fear into their very souls. But something bugged Daitan. Lately, Scorpion had lost his violence and rage. He dealt with things diplomatically instead of using his fists. He spoke first and only fought if needed. He was never like this before – Daitan knew from stories he had heard. But Scorpion had changed. He had become nice.

"Father," Daitan asked, Scorpion walking a few feet in front of him. "Can I ask you a question?"

Scorpion didn't stop or turn, but he spoke. "What is it, Daitan?"

"Well…" The boy was getting nervous and Scorpion could hear it, but he waited patiently. "You seemed angry at my fight. Why is that?"

"Do you know who you were fighting, Daitan?"

Daitan frowned. "Kashiko Liang, son of Sub-Zero and Sierra Liang, apprentice ninja of the Lin Kuei."

"Exactly. The Shirai Ryu cannot afford to have the Lin Kuei as enemies at the moment."

"Since when have we feared the Lin Kuei?"

"We don't fear them, Daitan. Being cautious of them is not fear, it is good politics."

"Its cowardice!" The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them. Part of him prayed Scorpion never heard the words, but when his father stopped walking Daitan knew he was in trouble. He flinched, as though someone had hit him. He was waiting for it. A punch that would send him flying. Scorpion turned around and his white eyes landed on Daitan. He then did something unexpected. He went to his knees and relaxed, as though he was ready to bow to an emperor.

"We having been walking for a while," Scorpion stated. "Let us relax quickly."

Daitan copied his father's pose. "O…Okay."

There was silence for a while as they stared at each other. Daitan shifted uncomfortably, waiting for words to come from his father's mouth. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of silence, Scorpion spoke.

"Your grandfather is probably stirring in his grave at the moment."

Daitan gave Scorpion a look of utter confusion. "Excuse me?"

Scorpion chuckled, though it did not sound positive at all. Maybe it was his voice or just his character – Scorpion was not someone many would describe as friendly – but it sounded demented.

"When I was younger, I wanted to become a ninja. Your grandfather forbid it and I followed his wishes… until he was killed. I hunted down the man who had done it when I was your age. That is when I got my first kill. From there, I trained and joined the Shirai Ryu, making my way up the ranks until I had achieved the title of Scorpion, the Shirai Ryu's deadliest assassin. I was feared."

"Because you feared nothing," Daitan interrupted. "Mother says that even when I was born, you still feared nothing. You didn't care who you angered or who came after us. But now… now you fear everything I do."

"Daitan, there is a difference between fear and caution. When you were born, I didn't worry for your safety because you had your mother. Had Quan Chi, that snake, not snuck up on her and instead fought her directly, she might have killed him."

"Mother?" Daitan wanted to laugh. He knew she had gotten rid of Quan Chi after her resurrection but that was because she had trained in case that situation had happened. But she couldn't have possibly fought him off the first time.

Scorpion knew exactly what his son was thinking – he could see it in his eyes. "Do not count your mother out so fast. She is an incredible warrior. Her methods are… questionable, but they are unique. To be honest, Daitan, she could easily take me on in a battle. Maybe even win."

This time, Daitan smiled. "I doubt that. I love mother, but she's not a ninja."

"No, but she is a fighter. One day, ask her to fight with you. You'd be surprised how capable she is. My point is, you were safe before Quan Chi eradicated our clan. But then you all died and I brought you back. That feat changed my status. I was no longer Scorpion, the deadliest assassin in the realms. I was Scorpion, Grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu. Everything I do now, everything my family does, is seen as the action of not us alone, but of the entire clan. Had you injured Kashiko badly, it would not be considered a mistake by the hands of a child. It would be considered an act of war."

"But aren't we already at war with the Lin Kuei?"

"While it is true that we are rival clans, I have made peace with Sub-Zero. The Shirai Ryu has only been back for just over ten years, while the Lin Kuei has never stopped growing. We cannot take them in a full scale war and I have made sure that cannot happen. Despite what many believe, Sub-Zero and I were once allies. I have rebuilt that friendship in the last ten years, but it is still under strain because of our people. The Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu have fought for centuries; it is not an easy alliance to maintain. But it is better to have them as friends instead of enemies, at least for the time being. Until our forces grow stronger. To answer your question, Daitan, about why I am so cautious. It is because before, I only needed to care for the safety of you and your mother. Now, I must protect an entire clan." Scorpion stood up. "Now, that is enough rest. Let us go. Kashiko should be arriving home in three days, which gives you some time to train."

"Train for what? And what has that weakling got to do with it?"

"All in due time, Daitan. All in due time."

* * *

The Shirai Ryu temple was massive. And 'temple' didn't do it justice. It was more like a small city, with courtyards and smaller dwellings around. There were training grounds and obstacle courses. Open spaces for sparring matches and other activities. In the middle of the grounds, a massive temple, with no apparent shape, stood tall. It looked like gold in the sunlight, but as the sun set, people could easily tell it was just the colour of the stone and sunlight that gave the effect. A colossal wall surrounded the entire compound with guards all over – even in places people couldn't see. The wall was smooth as ever, meaning it was impossible to scale it without some form of climbing equipment. The gates were amazing; giant, silver and in the middle lay a giant metallic scorpion – just like the one on Scorpion's belt. As father and son approached, someone shouted out. There was silence for a second and then, suddenly, the gates became to move, splitting the scorpion as they opened. The two stepped passed the gates and continued walking, not talking to anyone. They approached the temple, entering it with no interruptions. They walked the corridors, which were all lit brightly as they made their way to a square room.

The room was quite big. At the opposite end of the door, a scorpion had been painted onto the wall. Daitan thought it was beautiful. Why wouldn't he? His mother had made it. Along the other walls were weapons lined up – all types – for ninja to practice with. Bags full of sand hung from the ceiling. Many people found them random, but they were for enhancing ones reflexes and senses, as Daitan would now see. Standing in the middle of the room was a blonde boy with dark green eyes. He had a smug expression on his face, but, in most people's opinion, that was always there. The boy – who was fourteen if Daitan remembered correctly – stared at the two who had just entered his training space and smirked. It wasn't friendly by any means. Daitan knew that much. The boy was dressed exactly like Scorpion, down to the same belt. In his hands, he held long, thin pieces of metal that Daitan knew too well.

_Poison needles_, the boy thought. _This idiot specializes in them._

"Venom," Scorpion said as he spoke.

"Yes, master?" Venom replied, looking at Daitan as he said the last word. Daitan wanted to puke. This moron, who named himself Venom, was Scorpion's protégé. He was smug and arrogant and just a simple thorn in Daitan's side. Not many people knew his real name and not many people cared. But he was apparently one of the most talented members of the clan and, as such, got to personally train with Scorpion. Daitan didn't mind that part. It was the part where Venom would rub it in Daitan's face that he was better than the son of the Grandmaster.

"What are you doing?" Scorpion asked sternly.

"I'm just going to practice," Venom answered simply as he placed a piece of fabric around his eyes, blinding himself. "Watch and learn, Daitan."

Daitan almost attacked the boy, but with a wave of Scorpion's hand, someone released the bags of sand. Venom threw a needle to his left, piercing a bag before it touched the ground. He did the same for the bag on his right, the two at the back and another one that was in front of him. Daitan had to move so that the needle wouldn't hit him. He growled. He knew that shot was on purpose. Venom might have covered his eyes, but he was by no means blind. He knew exactly what was going on around him. After the last bag had touched the ground, he removed his blind fold, smirking proudly.

"Too slow," Scorpion said and then turned to leave.

Daitan almost burst out into laughter when he saw Venom's expression, but controlled himself. Even so, when Scorpion had left, he couldn't mask his satisfaction.

"What are you smirking at?" Venom asked, clearly not charmed with Daitan's presence.

"Nice to see you too," Daitan replied.

"The pleasure's not mine." There was silence for a moment while Venom gathered his needles. "Pass the one behind you."

"The one that almost hit me?"

A wicked smirk crossed Venom's face. "My bad. But I hear I'm not the only person who's almost killed someone this week."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Kashiko Liang? Seriously? Can't you pick on someone your own age? Or at the very least, your own size?"

"He attacked me first. And how do you even know about that? I just got home."

Venom chuckled. "You don't think that the son of Scorpion hasn't got eyes on him every second of every day?"

"You're lying. And even if you weren't, you're not a high enough rank to know that."

"Oh please, I'm a higher rank than most. And in case you're wondering, I will always be higher in rank than you. And you want to know why?"

"No, not really."

"Glad you asked. Because I'm not weak in my mind. I go for what I want with no fear of injury or even death. Unlike you… filled with fear and uncertainty. Never knowing if daddy will truly accept him for his skill and not just because he is blood. Do you want to know why I don't fear death?"

"Because The Elder Gods wouldn't give me the satisfaction of watching you die?"

Venom huffed. "You know, you talk tough, but I know the truth."

"What is the truth, Venom?"

"We both know your mommy doesn't want you to get hurt again. We both know that she has twenty-four hour protection on you. Poor Daitan… can't even fight his own battles."

Daitan clenched his fists. "I fight all my battles alone. I can beat you in a fight."

"I doubt that!" Venom laughed as he tried to get the words out. He walked up to Daitan, standing so close that Venom could put his head right next Daitan's ear. "If it were true, you'd be your father's protégé. But your not. I am. All you are is a disappointment. Not worthy of Scorpion's time or respect."

Anger engulfed Daitan and he struck at Venom's stomach with lightning speed, causing the warrior to move back slightly. But Daitan wasn't satisfied. He could feel it; Venom's hand was covering his fist. Daitan's attack had been blocked.

"Daitan, you don't have to act all brave for me." Venom said, a look of superiority on his face. "If we're ever under attack, I promise, I'll save your pathetic life." He released Daitan's fist and stepped towards the entrance. "It's the least I could do for you as the next Grandmaster." The comment made Daitan want to puke, but he knew that it was easily going that way. Many of the head ninja of the Shirai Ryu had been discussing Venom and his future. Most of the talk started because he was Scorpion's personal student. And that made Daitan angry and, if he was being honest with himself, a little miserable. And jealous. "Now come on."

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Daitan looked at Venom, trying to conceal his anger.

"Actually you are. Your mission briefing is only in three days."

"Mission briefing?" What mission? Three days? That was when Kashiko was supposed to arrive home. But why? What was happening and why did it involve Daitan and his rival?

Venom raised his eyebrow. "You haven't heard? They pulled you out of school, because you, Daitan, are going to be going on your first ninja mission. Congratulations. It seems someone higher up finally thinks his baby should sprout wings. I doubt it was your father, but hey, we all have to start somewhere."

"If I hear one more comment like that, I'm going to…"

"Hit me?"

"I was going to say kill, but okay. What mission is this?"

"Why would I care? I've been ordered to train with you for the next three days. As sickening as it is, I have to sink to your level now."

Daitan clenched his fists again. He counted to ten in his head, trying to remain calm. He could attack Venom – it clearly wouldn't be the first time – but his mind was too busy thinking about this mission and Kashiko. Were they connected and, more importantly, if they were connected, why?

Venom snapped his fingers, catching Daitan's attention. "All jokes aside, I need to tell you something. Your father will be training us, so listen up. Protégé is my title. Try to steal it in the next three days and I will kill you."

Venom left without saying another word. Daitan followed, staying a few steps. Though, it was not out of fear. Daitan was smiling actually. Between his anger, Kashiko, The Academy, this mission and his mother smothering him, the thought of stealing the Protégé title hadn't even crossed his mind. But it had now…

* * *

Kashiko Liang walked through the gates of his home. The Lin Kuei compound always reminded him of some sort of medieval castle. The walls surrounding it were made with giant bricks of stone. But even if someone could breach the walls, getting to the main temple would still be difficult. There were countless lookouts and gates guarding the passage to the Grandmaster's home. Small villages surrounded the temple, stone huts coming into sight every now and again. Giant buildings which were used for shops, housing and dojos were stationed in key points around the area. This place was not a compound. It was a small city. The Lin Kuei's city. Children ran the snow covered streets, while elders sat in their homes and thought about days passed. The ninja of the village patrolled and trained, some getting ready for missions which frequently came to the clan. Unlike the Shirai Ryu, the Lin Kuei had the time to build a name for itself to the point where it did not need to find high profile missions to fund their clan. The missions simply came to them.

Kashiko walked the streets with a giant grin, excited to be home where not everyone looked at him as though he were a weakling. People here greeted him, spoke with him, asked him how training was going. Some even encouraged him, telling the boy that he has the potential to one day be the greatest ninja the Lin Kuei ever had. He never got this type of support at The Academy. It wasn't an academy for fighters. It was a zest-pool for gossip and arrogance and the who's who in the world of battle. Basically, it was a high-school with better subjects.

He smirked at the thought as he turned the corner, the giant temple coming into view. The temple was massive. Kashiko always compared it to an enormous pyramid because of its shape. But the simple shape deceived people about the inside. It was confusing in the halls of the temple and many, many members of the clan had gotten lost at one time or another. Also, the temple was covered in ice and snow which seeped into the building, causing the temperature to drop substantially. But Sub-Zero always kept it that way. If his ninja could survive the harsh conditions of the ice wasteland and the creatures that lurk in it, they could survive many things. Kashiko moved into the temple and just began walking. He navigated his way around until he entered a giant room. There was a long blue carpet leading from the door all the way to three small steps which ascended to two giant thrones. Behind the thrones there was a giant statue of a woman who was wearing a cape. The hood of the cape was covering not only her head, but her eyes as well. The woman was Delia, a powerful sorceress from Edenia. It was said that she was killed many years ago by her own son. This temple was built in her honour and even now, the statues of her still stand. Four giant pillars stood equal distances apart, holding up the ceiling. On the one side, openings – for the purpose of windows – were letting the little light from the sun into the room. On the other wall, there were perfectly carved pictures depicting the history of the Lin Kuei; from their beginnings to the death of their original Sub-Zero (Kashiko's uncle) to Kuai Liang – Kashiko's father - becoming Sub-Zero to the clan using technology on their own warriors such as Smoke and Sektor to Sektor trying to take over to Sub-Zero's coming of power to Frost and all her misdeeds to the battle in Edenia against Blaze to Kashiko's parents meeting and marrying and finally to the birth of Kashiko himself, apparently a momentous occasion as no Grandmaster had ever had a child. The carving were glowing a mystifying blue – probably magic caused by Kashiko's mother.

Kashiko smiled. Despite the icy region, he felt so warm here. This was his home, he felt safe here. Well most of the time. But now, suddenly, he felt a chill crawl up his spine. And he knew what was causing it. It took him a moment, but he soon realized that someone was watching him. He was not alone. Sitting on the throne was someone who was staring into Kashiko's very soul. It wasn't surprising. This person had the same effect on everyone.

"Welcome back, Kashiko." The voice was cold and grim, almost threatening.

"Arion," Kashiko replied as someone slipped off the throne, out of the shadows. "I thought you were on a mission."

"I finished it early," Arion replied, examine a dark blue ball of energy in his hand as though it were a gem. "As always. Good to have you home, little brother."

Kashiko stared at Arion. He hadn't really changed. His jet black hair had grown a bit and he was clean shaven as always. His blue eyes were dark and mysterious. They would become light randomly for a split second and then return to their darker state, as though a quick flash came on and then died. He said it was because of the magic within his body, that his chi was too powerful to keep invisible. Part of Kashiko thought that this excuse was rubbish. But when reviewing Arion's missions and how excellent the reports were on him, a big part of boy believed the man who called him brother. Arion was nineteen-years-old and even though Sub-Zero and Sierra only had one child, the boys were related. They were half-brothers. Sierra had had a son – Arion – about eight years before she had met Sub-Zero. Many thought they full brothers because of their features, but they were far from being the same. They may have looked very similar, but one thing separated them. Their personalities. Kashiko was kind-hearted and warm. But Arion… Arion came off calm, cool and maybe a little compassionate. But, in truth, he was one thing: a complete sociopath who enjoys nothing but watching the pain in others. Angered quickly, ruthless in a fight, no remorse for his victims. Yes, when he wished it, Arion could turn himself into a monster, a creature seem in the nightmares of children. Which is why Kashiko was always calm around him.

"Good to be home, big brother. Why am I home?"

Arion moved towards the window. "You, my little brother, have your first mission."

Kashiko's face lit up. "Seriously? That's great!"

"Yes…" Arion replied less than enthusiastic. "It is an easy mission, a good starter."

"I thought I wasn't going to get a mission until another year at The Academy."

"We all thought that. However, this order comes from your father himself. He's been meeting someone in secret, however no one knows who. It started about two weeks ago, around the exact time he told our mother about his plans to send you off on your first mission. We… well I assume the two are connected."

"But who has he been meeting?"

"No one knows. No doubt it was a connection he made during these pathetic peace talks."

Kashiko felt a jolt of anger shoot through his body when he heard Arion's words. Sub-Zero had been organizing peace talks with many groups in order to gain allies and create cease-fires so that they may live in peace. However, some did not agree with this diplomatic approach. One such person was Arion and Kashiko couldn't keep quiet.

"Those peace talks are important to my father, to our mother and to the people of this clan."

Arion leaned against the wall. "They are all fools. Peace does not come through talking. It comes through crushing any and every opponent that can jeopardize our existence. Once every threat is eliminated, then we have peace."

"You see everyone as a threat, Arion. You can't just kill off the world."

"And why not?"

"Is this a trick question? Or are you just insane?"

Arion's expression went dark and Kashiko knew he went too far. "Watch it, little brother. You're one of the few people in this world that I actually like. It would be a shame if you got hurt." Before Kashiko could replied or run in fear, Arion spoke again. "Anyway… The point of this conversation was to just waste time until Sektor arrives."

"Sektor? The cyborg that use to work for this clan?"

"The one in the same. He is next on Sub-Zero's best-friends-forever list. I am the liaison who has been keeping them in contact for the passed week. I am to escort him to the negotiation room so that they may discuss alliances between the Lin Kuei and Sektor's band of ninja cyborgs. But first, it is time to escort you."

"To where?"

"The briefing room. Come, little brother. I think it's time you get you first mission."

Kashiko followed Arion as he walked out of the room. He had butterflies in his stomach. His first mission! It was going to be amazing! Across the world, Daitan was thinking the exact same thing. They both approached the briefing rooms in their own compounds, each led by someone – Venom for Daitan and Arion for Kashiko. They entered their rooms and in front of them stood their parents, waiting. The doors shut behind them and, even though they were far from each other, they were both about to get their mission briefings.

They were going on their first mission.

* * *

**Thanx for reading. Let me know what you think about the story and characters.**


	4. Chapter 3: The Mission

**Mortal Kombat: Vengeance**

Thanx to everyone for the reviews, they really mean a lot. Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it.

**Mortal Kombat: Vengeance**

**Chapter 3: The Mission**

Kashiko walked into the room. The walls were dark blue like the rest of the building and in the corners ice had crept in from the outside. A giant table stood in the middle of the room with a mess of documents detailing missions, ninja rosters, lists of potential targets, allies and so on. Kashiko wanted to step forward but his nerves suddenly had gotten the better of him. Arion stood by his side and despite his sociopath nature he did show a hint of care toward his little brother. He placed his hand on Kashiko's shoulder as the boy tensed, signaling for him to calm down. Usually he would be calm, but everyone was here. Everyone important.

The first person Kashiko saw was his mother, Sierra. She was standing while looking at a file. She looked up and smiled warmly as her eyes set on her son. Kashiko knew that his looks definitely came from his mother. Icy blue eyes, black hair (albeit hers was longer and less messy) and a gentle, warm smile. The only thing he had received from Sub-Zero was his light skin. Speaking of which, Sub-Zero was also there, sitting at the end of the table, reading a report – probably on mission. He looked up and smiled at his son. His hair had gone snow white – if it was any other colour at one time, Kashiko couldn't tell. His skin was no longer pale; years of living in this wasteland and manipulating ice must have taken its toll. Sub-Zero's skin was now a bluish-white, as though he had been frozen to death. But he was very much alive. He also smiled at his son, but it was not as warm as his wife's smile. He had extremely pale blue eyes which made his stare a little scary. He was sitting down, but Kashiko could make out what he was wearing. It reminded the boy of what Scorpion was wearing, just blue instead of yellow.

"He has finally arrived," a man behind Sub-Zero began with disdain. "We can start this."

Ura was his name. He was Sub-Zero's personal advisor and pain in everyone else's neck. Even Sierra couldn't stand the man and she was the one who had originally told Sub-Zero to choose him as an advisor. She was definitely kicking herself now. He had dark brown eyes that screamed arrogance and smirk that just made anyone who saw him wish they could flatten his face. His black hair was cut short. He was tall and always stood up straight – Kashiko was convinced his spine had been frozen.

"That's if he had a spine," Arion would say in private. The boys never disrespected the man in public, but for very different reasons. Kashiko never did because it was his nature. Arion never did because they were always around Sub-Zero when Ura would open his mouth and Arion knew that he would kill the man. But to kill someone in front of the Grandmaster was not the best idea. Even if it would make a lot of people happy.

"Relax, Ura," a young woman next to Sierra spoke. "It's the boys first time."

Kashiko smiled gently at this woman. She had always been around, his mom's student and personal advisor. But she was nothing like Ura. She was in her twenties, he was older. She wasn't as tall as Ura and she had longish light brown hair and emerald green eyes. She smiled warmly where as Ura never smiled at all unless it was a smug grin. Her name was Narissa and there was always one thing that bugged Kashiko. She didn't have muscle for strength and she wasn't fit enough for advanced martial arts like another ninja. She wasn't fast either – Kashiko had seen her run. However she always took the toughest missions and always came back victorious as though her enemies simple keeled over and died. Kashiko could never understand it. It was impossible, but she did it. And Sierra always kept her close when she was home, as though she were a personal body guard. There was nothing special that he could tell. No grand bloodline or strong clan connections. No special incident that gave her magic powers. And yet, she was one of the top fighters of the clan.

"Sit down, Kash," Narissa said merrily. "You nervous?"

"A little," Kashiko said, but he didn't meet his parents' eyes. He didn't want them to see how nervous he really was.

"Well don't you worry, kid," Narissa replied as she sat down closer to him. "We've formed an experienced group that you will be traveling with. They consist of…"

"Narissa?" Sierra interrupted. "How about we tell him about the mission first?"

"Oh, of course. I apologize, mistress."

Sierra sat down. "Not necessary."

"May we finish this?" Ura added his thoughts. "Sektor will be arriving soon and, frankly, this is a waste of your time, Grandmaster. This time would be better spent thinking about what to say, not pampering the boy on his simple mission."

Sub-Zero looked at Ura with a calm face. "Relax, Ura. This will only take a minute. It's a big occurrence."

"It's a child's first mission. With all due respect, master, he may be your son, but he is still just a low rank ninja – not even that. He shouldn't have your time this easily."

"Do you want me to kill him?" Arion whispered the joke into Kashiko's ear. At least the boy hoped it was a joke. Odds are it wasn't.

"Ura," Sierra stepped in. "You are just wasting more time. The sooner you stop complaining, the sooner we can begin."

"With all due respect…"

"Oh, here we go," Narissa began.

"Everyone, enough!" Sub-Zero's voice became harsh. Clearly this little dispute was annoying him. "Ura, Sektor offered to come here first and I accepted. He is a ninja and he has his own clan. He knows that sometimes Grandmasters have other arrangements. He can wait. Now, Kashiko, on to your mission…"

Across the world, a few minutes before Sub-Zero began speaking, Daitan had come out from the showers. He always found his home funny. This old temple which acted as a base for ancient warriors but had electricity and great plumbing. He found it assuming for some reason, mainly because of everyone at The Academy.

"You live in an old temple?"

"Must be rough…"

"Do people attack you a lot without security alarms." (They had those too.)

It was very strange how people assumed The Shirai Ryu was still in the dark ages. But it wasn't only his clan. Daitan had heard kids ask Kashiko the same questions, but the boy would humour them and answer 'yes' to every question just for a laugh. Daitan chuckled. Kashiko… he wondered if he would ever cross paths with the boy on a mission? No, what are the odds? Unless… no, it was stupid to think this mission was connected with the kid.

Venom showed up as before Daitan could put his shirt on. He made the boy get dressed and they walked off – he didn't even have time to dry his hair. He walked through the corridors, twisting and turning. He heard people speaking as they walked passed. Some greeted him, some spoke amongst themselves. Then he heard something that interested him. Something about a traitor.

"There was a traitor?"

It took Venom a while to realize the question was directed to him. "Yes. Some rookie went into a smaller briefing room and surprised the four ninja in there, killing them. He them moved on to other ninja but was killed before anymore lives were lost."

"A rookie killing four other ninja and surviving? That doesn't seem odd to you?"

"Not in the slightest. Some people are just naturally stronger than others."

Daitan knew exactly what that translated to: _I will always be stronger than you, son of Scorpion. _Despite his frustration, he bit his tongue gently just so he could keep his mouth shut. He followed Venom until they entered a giant room. On the one wall spread a long map of Earth Realm. On the opposite wall there were five smaller maps – still big enough in Daitan's opinion. They were from the neighbouring realms: Edenia, Realm of Chaos, Realm of Order, The Nether Realms and Outworld. Daitan had never traveled to another realm but he wanted to. One day, he'd tell himself. One day.

In the room, besides Venom and Daitan, there were five other people. Scorpion was the first. Then an advisor who Daitan had never met and would never care about. Two ninja stood off to the side. They were both clean shaven, had dark eyes and their hair was shaved short, but any similarities end there. One was in his late twenties – Daitan could tell – and the other was far older. The oldest was clearly from japan, but the other ninja was clearly not. The older man was more serious, more burdened while his partner had a cocky smirk and spark in his eye as though life was just great. They just stood off to the side but did turn to observe Daitan as he entered the room. The last person made Daitan smile. She had dark blonde hair which came down to her shoulders. She was in her very late thirties, but Daitan knew she was beauty when she was younger. She had the same eyes he had, just not as extreme as his. These eyes were calmer, easier to look at without being mesmerized or anxious. She was wearing a white robe with strange patterns on it. She said it was from her family, but Daitan found it odd that he had never heard of this so called family. His mother's family. Akina smiled at her son as they all sat down – after Scorpion, their Grandmaster, had taken his seat of course.

"Let's get to the point, shall we?" the advisor spoke and then never said anything else.

"I agree," Scorpion said as he opened a file.

"Firstly, how was the training?" Scorpion asked.

Intense was Daitan's first thought. In the last three days he did so much exercise, went through so many simulations, fought an abnormal about of sparring matches that he actually thought he was going to die. He would pass out or bring up and when he was fine again, Venom would have him up and running. Daitan wanted to give in after three days. Venom went through this all the time and then some if Scorpion had anything to say about it. For the first time in his life, Daitan found a harsh truth: Venom was better than him…

"It was good," Daitan smiled. "Different from The Academy."

"Good to hear," Akina said. "How was The Academy, by the way?"

"Mother…" Daitan tried to find the words. "This isn't a catch-up session. Can we talk about this when I get back from the mission?"

Akina smiled. "Of course."

"Thanks."

Scorpion cleared his throat. "Well, if we are all done catching up, let's start this briefing…"

No one would ever know, but both briefings began at exactly the same time. Whether this was fate or just plain coincidence, no one could say, but the briefings had undoubtedly started in unison.

"Firstly, this isn't your ordinary first mission," Scorpion began speaking to Daitan. "Usually, a first mission consists of spying or stealing something from a low risk area or person. But this mission is different."

"How so?" Kashiko asked his father who had just given him the same opening.

"First things first," Sub-Zero replied. "Let us give you some background. Sierra?"

Sierra looked at her husband and then turned to her son, no longer as his mother but as a leader. "Yes, background. This may seem confusing to you at first, but bare with us and you'll understand why we're talking about the Shirai Ryu. The Shirai Ryu has been around for many centuries, founded by an ex-Lin Kuei member name Takeda. Most of their specialties lie in stealth and fire based abilities. They were killed off by a sorcerer named Quan Chi quite a few years back and everyone thought that was the end of them, but eleven years ago, they were revived by their current Grandmaster, Scorpion. They have made many enemies but one of their main enemies is us, the Lin Kuei."

"The Lin Kuei has been around longer than our own clan," Venom began, "and we have also had set backs because of obvious problems." Silence took the room. No one ever spoke about the clan's annihilation and everyone preferred it that way. Venom waited a while for a comment, but when none came, he continued. "However, their power has grown tremendously and they are proving to be a problem. We have to take that power down slightly, show them that they are not as invincible as they think they are. We need to crush their confidence."

"But I thought we were on good terms with The Shirai Ryu?" Kashiko queried.

"Pure rumours," Sub-Zero corrected. "We're not on good terms with anyone in that clan."

"Okay…" Daitan said, unsure of his next question. "But how do we strike at them?"

Scorpion responded, "All in due time, Daitan. Akina, your next."

Akina nodded and began explaining. "Now, Daitan, as you're first mission, you are obviously not going alone. We have organized two men to accompany you. These two men in the room are they. The first, and more experienced" – in other words, the old guy, Daitan thought – "is named Yang and he will be your squad leader. You will follow his orders whatever they may be. Understood?

"Yes," he answered quickly.

"The young man next to him is Jan."

"I'm sorry, Yawn?"

"Jan," the younger team member corrected as he stepped forward. He could tell that Daitan was confused so he picked up and pen and paper and began writing something down. He passed it to Daitan. The paper had two names on it. "Here… top one is my name and bottom is how you pronounce it."

Daitan studied the bottom one. "Yahn?"

"Yes."

"But spelt J-A-N?"

"Yes."

Daitan stared at the man and then shrugged carelessly. "Okay."

"Are you two done?" Akina asked in a tone that made sure neither of them answered. She watched as Jan stepped back and then focused her attention on her son. "Those are your teammates for this mission."

"So I have three teammates?" Kashiko asked Narissa.

Narissa maintained her calm smile as she briefed. "Yes. Now we know that usually squads of three are sent out, but as the son of our leaders, we felt a fourth was necessary. Your squad leader is Dian-Ming. I trust you know what a squad leader is?"

Silence. And then, "The questions rhetorical, right?"

"Show respect boy!" Ura snapped.

Narissa chuckled. "It's fine, Ura. Clearly the boy knows. The other two members are Dao and Tuo. They are there to help complete the mission that you are required to do."

"Okay." Kashiko nodded in agreement. "But what is this mission?"

"There is a temple that has been abandoned by its clan," Sub-Zero began with no warning. "It is a two day journey from here. You will travel by sea for a day and a half and walk for the other twelve hours. Our intelligence gathering has told us The Shirai Ryu will be heading there to. That is why this is a perfect time for our plan."

"The Shirai Ryu? How long is their journey?"

"You want me to walk for two days?" Daitan shouted before he could stop the words from coming out.

Scorpion ignored the outburst and continued the briefing. "With reasonable breaks in between. The point is with the right timing, you will arrive around the time the Lin Kuei squad gets there. They will enter the temple and attempt to find treasure. There's said to be an artifact of great power there, power which we could use."

"So my mission is to steal the artifact before they do?

Scorpion shook his head. "That is only part of the mission. You see, this mission is not the usual first mission, as I mentioned before. One of the members of the Lin Kuei squad will be Sub-Zero's son."

"Hold on a minute," Kashiko held his hands up to stop his father. "Daitan Hasashi will be there looking for this artifact?"

"Yes," Sub-Zero answered. "And this is where your true mission comes in. To weaken the Shirai Ryu forces."

"To show the Lin Kuei that they cannot look down on us…" Scorpion spoke with determination.

"Your clan needs you to do something that can show our power…" Sub-Zero continued."

Scorpion looked his son dead in the eye. "Something that can help our cause."

There was silence in both rooms. They may have been half a world apart and they may never know it, but both boys felt the same thing. Dread. They should have been excited, enthusiastic to be asked to go on such an important mission. But first missions are supposed to be simple. Steal, spy, sabotage. But this… this sounded different. This sounded like a mission that neither was ready for. A mission that they knew they would eventually get to. They just never thought it would come so soon, when they weren't ready for it. Especially with whom the mission involved. They disliked each other, but could they really do what their father's, their clans, were going to ask them – no, order them – to do?

With a gulp and a deep breath, both boys asked the question that they didn't want the answer to.

"What exactly do you want me to do?"

Their father's expressions went as serious as they possibly could. Finally, they gave the answer the boys were expecting.

"Assassinate the son of their Grandmaster."

* * *

Arion had left the briefing early to wait by the gate. He was the first to see the group of cyborg ninja to come over the snow-covered hill. They walked slowly, as though the ice had gotten into there joints and frozen the metal together. Arion thought it was disgusting. Metal fused with human flesh. Who would choose that life? Why would they?

"Sir…" a ninja approached Arion.

Arion held out his hand. "It's fine. The Grandmaster is expecting them."

Arion watched as Sektor, covered in his red, metallic armour, and his four personal guards walked towards him. Arion couldn't help but wondering why Sektor had called a peace-meeting. It seemed odd. Sektor had been here before and Arion heard it went well, that there was peace between the two clans. So why had he called another meeting?

"Grandmaster Sektor," Arion greeted as the words turned his stomach.

"Arion…" Sektor analyzed the boy as his computerized voice escaped his mouth. "Take me to your Grandmaster."

"Not so fast. My job is to protect my clan and I will do whatever it takes to make sure I live up to that oath. If I may ask, why are you really here? The peace talks went perfect last time if I heard correctly. So, option one, I heard wrong. Or option two; you really do not want peace with us."

Sektor got agitated very quickly with Arion's tone, but he didn't show it. "There is an option three, boy."

"There always is… the peace talk meeting is a cover up for something else, isn't it? The question is: what?"

"That is between me and Sub-Zero. I have information that must be heard by his ears first. However, I can tell you one thing." Arion leaned forward, just in case he missed something. "Your clan may be in grave danger. Danger that could destroy it forever."

* * *

**Thanx for reading. Please review.**

**Question: What did you guys think of the way the briefing was set out?**


	5. Chapter 4: On The Battlefield

**Mortal Kombat: Vengeance**

**Thank you to everyone for the reviews, it awesome to see my story is entertaining people and I hope this chapter won't disappoint. Thanx again. **

**Chapter 4: On The Battlefield**

Kashiko suited up very quickly, nervous but excited to be going on his first mission. And a little scared. To be asked to assassinate someone was a major responsibility. It almost didn't make sense to him. Why would they send him on such an important mission? He was just a rookie after all. Something was not right here but Kashiko couldn't put his finger on it. And that bugged him…

He wondered about his mission as he looked at his reflection in the ice. He then chuckled when he realized he looked like a smaller version of his father – excluding the hair. He smiled as he got his gear which consisted simply of shurikens and kunai knives. Nothing else was needed for a rookie, they all said, but Kashiko felt that what they were asking him to do at least warranted a special item of some sort. Apparently he got that wish when someone walked in holding a gift.

"Are you ready?"

The voice sent a chill down Kashiko's spine, but it was not threatening. Sub-Zero just had that effect on people.

"Father," Kashiko said as he turned around. It took him a while to register the question. "Ready? I think so."

"You should never think," Sub-Zero said calmly. "To be great ninja, a great warrior, you must know what you are doing. Be confident in your actions. Never, ever take action when you are not sure if it is the right thing to do. You have to know it's the right thing to do down to your core."

"Ninja don't always get to do the right thing."

Sub-Zero laughed. "Sometimes you think too much for a young boy, Kashiko. I'm simply telling you to follow your instincts when you are unsure of what to do."

"Instincts get ninja killed, father," Kashiko replied confidently. "Logic keeps them alive."

"Sometimes thinking too much can be ones down fall."

"How? Knowledge is power and power is survival. Mother taught me that."

Sub-Zero sat on a chair and motioned for his son to join him. "She's right, your mother. Knowledge is power but you must remember something: false knowledge is death."

"What?"

"Do you know what the Dragon Medallion is?"

Kashiko answered the question so fast it even surprised his father. "It's an artifact of our ancestors. It increases our ice powers tenfold."

"And have I ever told you about Frost?"

"Your student that went crazy?"

"Yes, her. She knew the power of my Dragon Medallion, just like you do. She also knew where to get it and how to get it. She knew everything about it to make it hers. Her knowledge was going to gain her power. Do you know why she failed?"

Kashiko shook his head.

"She was too cocky. Like you, she thought there was no situation that she could not analyze. When she got a hold on the medallion, she thought she had the power to control it because of her bloodline. But it takes more than being a Cryomancer to gain the amulet's power. She got the power she wanted, but it was too strong and she ended up freezing herself."

"Father, no offence, but is there a point to this story?"

"The point, Kashiko, is that it was her over-confidence that failed her. I saw her face before she activated the amulet. She hesitated, seemed unsure of herself. Something told her to stop, but her arrogance won and she lost. Humans are animals. We have instincts too; logic just forbids us from using it. If you are in a dangerous position, follow your instincts. Understand?"

He nodded. "Yes, father."

"Good." Sub-Zero pulled out a blade. It looked like a kunai knife, but much sharper and much bigger. It was smaller than a sword, but bigger than a dagger. The strange thing was that the blade was two colours. The one side was silver but had a tint of icy blue to it and the other was a fiery gold.

Kashiko's eyes widened in awe. "What is that?"

"It's a special blade I found in the Cryomancer's temple."

"What's it do?"

"Now that is for you to figure out." He handed the blade over, allowing Kashiko to feel it in his hands, get use to it. Silence followed as Kashiko examined the blade and a million thoughts ran through his mind.

The boy looked up as one thought stuck. "How do you use it?"

Sub-Zero looked confused. "Like a normal blade, but…"

"No, I mean your medallion. You said it takes more than being a Cryomancer to gain the amulet's power. What does it take?"

"Now that…

"Is for me to figure out," Kashiko finished with a smirk.

The boy sheathed his new found weapon and hooked it up to his belt. He stood up, looking around for anything useful and, when he saw nothing, he turned to his father. There were no words spoken. Kashiko put his Lin Kuei mask on and smiled through it, but they still said nothing. They just nodded and Kashiko walked off, out his room, out his temple and out his home. His mission had begun.

* * *

Sektor was getting annoyed. He had been sitting in the same room for hours waiting for Sub-Zero to arrive. The little brat known as Kashiko had already left for his mission over two hours before, so why was Sektor still waiting? He looked at his two men who accompanied him into the room. The other two had other jobs around the base, co-operating with the Lin Kuei on certain tasks. He examined the room. It was plain, with the ice trademark creeping into the walls. There was a table in the middle made from some kind of wood that Sektor couldn't care less about. Chairs surrounded the table as they usually do. The table had a vase of strange flowers that probably could withstand this climate. There was no other form of decoration, but why would there be? These were ninja not housewives. In fact, he found the flowers odd, but he didn't think about it too much.

Sektor looked at the door and if his face could still show expressions, it would show aggravation and a strong urge to do something violent. He had waited enough! The cyborg stood up with a grunt, ready to walk out and go find someone when all of a sudden the doors burst open, revealing the sorceress, Sierra. Her black hair flowed down and her ice-blue eyes would have sent a shiver up his spine if he still felt things like that. Sierra smiled at him, but it was not a welcoming smile. He knew that smile. It wasn't one that said 'welcome' or 'so glad to see you'. It was more of a 'sit-your-ass-back-down-Sektor' smile.

"Wow, you really are impatient," Sierra commented as she blocked the doorway.

"Lady Sierra," Sektor greeted. "Where is your husband?"

"Oh, straight to the point I see. What, no flirting? Witty comment anyone?" Sektor wasn't amused. Sierra folded her arms in frustration. "He'll be here shortly. In the meantime, you can tell me what you want."

His reply was simple. "No."

Sierra's smile disappeared. "No? Why the hell not?"

"What I have to say must be said directly to the Grandmaster."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"I have my reason. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a ninja to find."

She didn't move. "If you want to get out of this room, you have to go through me."

"Don't think I won't. My treaty starts and stops with the Lin Kuei."

"I am Lin Kuei."

"No, you're just some woman who married into power. You were not born, nor were you recruited, into the Lin Kuei. Don't even think for a second that I will hesitate to break you in half."

Sierra stared at Sektor and for a moment, for one tiny moment, he thought he had actually scared her. But in truth, all he had done was send her anger levels shooting though the roof. The words that escaped her mouth were too foul to repeat to anyone and Sektor had no doubt that everyone in the temple could hear her screaming at him anyway. But that wasn't what was bugging. It was his sensors. She couldn't tell, but his robotic sight allows him to see things that others can't. Analyse objects and people in front of him, open files of data stored in his memory banks and even detect the slightest, almost undetectable noise patterns. A walking super computer. And those techniques came in handy.

Sektor can activate his technological analysis abilities anytime, but when there is a spike in something, an abnormality such as a flash of light or a loud screech, the technology might activate by itself. The screaming had activated the cyborg's audio technologies and while the screaming was the main focus, there was another discrepancy in the data. A faint noise, a beeping sound of some sort, which was very odd. Technology had spread throughout Earthrealm, but the ninja clans of the realm tried their best to only rely on lights and running water – as odd as it sounds. To have a mechanism beeping would be odd, unless of course they didn't know it was there. Sektor looked around the room, searching for something.

"Are you even listening to me?" Sierra asked, calming herself down.

"Wait…" He looked around. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Sektor ignored her. He wanted to kick himself. His trust in this clan had given him a false sense of security that he didn't even bother searching the only places where someone could hide a device. He moved and picked up the vase. Or tried to. It was in fact stuck to the table. And as he felt it, his sensors picked up it was fake. The flowers, the vase, everything. Fake and hollow. He ripped the plants out, but they popped off like a cap to a bottle – no roots or dirty attached. Plastic. Sektor looked into the hollow vase only to see a device stashed in it. A flashing light attracted his attention. No doubt that was what was causing the faint beeping he had detected. And then a click and he knew what came next.

Kashiko had gone out of reach from the noise of the bomb that destroyed the room Sektor and his mother once stood in. But as he reached the top of the cliff in front of him, if he had taken two seconds to turn around, he would have seen his father's temple. And the smoke that was rising from it… well, he would have seen that too.

* * *

_Two Days Later…_

Daitan wanted to claw his eyes out. He had moved for more than two days before, but this was crazy. It wasn't a walk. It was a run, jump, hide, observe, move out and repeat. And then he was ordered to do stuff. Look out for good camping spots and hide outs even though they were just jumping passed them. Make sure no one was following them even though they had entered the forest and he didn't even know where he was. And then there were countless things to look out for, pointless things. Watch everyone that walks passed, but don't make it obvious. On that note, try not looking with your eyes. What did that even mean? Daitan was a fighter. He didn't mind conflict. He would take the person head on if he had to. He smiled at the thought. It wasn't the thought of him fighting, but the thought of his mother's lecture before he left.

"Please think before you act," Akina instructed as Daitan search all over the room.

"I will," he answered without thinking about it. He had heard so many of these speeches that 'I will' was just the standard response and he knew that she knew it.

"Don't lie to me, Daitan." Her eyes followed him around the room as he searched. "I know you. You're stubborn just like your father. You'll go into battle without a second thought and you'll most likely pick the strongest opponent and he'll try to kill you and why are you walking around while I'm trying to…"

"Lecture me?"

"Talk… to you." She watched him on the move. "What are you looking for?"

"My kodachi!" A kodachi is blade a similar to a katana – a curved, slender, single edged blade – but smaller in size which was perfect for the thirteen-year-old to use effectively. The problem was he couldn't find it.

"Well, this is what happens when you leave your stuff lying around," Akina lectured.

"I can't believe this," Daitan mumbled under his breath. "I live in the ninja world and I'm still getting these household mom lectures."

"What was that?" Akina's tone was deadly.

"Um… nothing."

"I thought so."

"Daitan…" Venom said as he walked in, only to see the mess Daitan had created. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Trying to find my…"

"Kodachi?" Venom guessed.

"Yes," Daitan looked up. "How did you know?"

Venom held up a sheathed blade. "I'm holding it. I was ordered to sharpen it – or get it sharpened – before you left. Lady Akina here was actually the one who gave me the order. It was more of a threat."

Daitan grumbled under his breath. So much for the 'leaving your lying around' speech. His mother knew where the blade was the whole time. The boy sighed and asked Venom for it. He tossed the sheathed kodachi to Daitan who caught it easily. He spun it around before abruptly stopping and drawing the blade slowly, delicately, as though removing a work art from a box so not to break it. He examined the blade, watching his reflection in it. It sent a chill down his spine. His father had used this exact same blade and it made Daitan smirk that he got to use it now. This blade landed Scorpion's first kill, if Daitan remembered correctly. He thought about that, his father's first kill, and then his mind drifted to his target. Kashiko Liang…

Akina noticed her son's smile disappear. "Something wrong?"

He looked up, shocked to see that people were still in his room. He had gone into such a trance that he didn't even realize anyone was there, but Akina's voice had knocked him back into reality. He strapped the blade's cover onto his back and slipped the kodachi back in. Then he looked his mother in the eyes and placed a fake smile on his face.

"No," he replied. "Everything's perfect."

Everything's perfect… It was now two days later and Daitan couldn't help but feel that what he had told his mother was a complete and utter lie. He wasn't comfortable with this at all. It wasn't that he had to kill someone… well, it was, but that wasn't what made him uncomfortable.

The Shirai Ryu cannot afford to have the Lin Kuei as enemies at the moment.

That is what his father had said. This assassination was sure as hell not going to have the Lin Kuei handing out hugs; it's going to cause all out war! Why would Scorpion say that and then spring this mission on his son? Was it a test of loyalty? Tell Daitan something and then order him to do the opposite? As bad as it was, the boy wouldn't have put it passed Scorpion. The man knew how to separate personal and professional relationships. But it still made no sense.

While it is true that we are rival clans, I have made peace with Sub-Zero. Despite what many believe, Sub-Zero and I were once allies. I have rebuilt that friendship in the last ten years, but it is still under strain because of our people.

His father seemed so sincere when he said that. Was it all a lie? To his own son, his own flesh and blood? No, something else was going on here. Something behind the scenes, something that was being kept from him. This was really starting to get to his mind. Daitan looked at his leader, Yang, and was about to ask him a question when Jan spoke first.

"We're here."

Daitan's heart jumped into his throat, but that was nothing compared to what he felt when the forest melted away and in front of him stood a giant, stone temple. The location of his mission, the place where he'd get his first kill. He stopped and observed, but before he knew it, they were on the move again. His mission had truly begun now. And whatever plot his father was planning had begun with it.

* * *

Kashiko was moving around the temple quickly, swiftly. He would duck when he thought it was necessary and move out after assessing his surroundings. The temple seemed to be deserted for many years; it was hard to believe any treasure still remained. Even harder to believe the Shirai Ryu would go so far out of their way for a one artifact. It must be very unique.

They moved quickly through the temple, through the corridors and abandoned rooms that had deteriorated with the years of no one being in them. Darkness had seemed run the place. Even in the day time, this was still a dreary place. Kashiko followed his group as he examined the surroundings. Dark stone bricks made up the walls. Broken glass and other artifacts decorated the floor. Even the fabric that covered windows and doorways were torn to shreds. This place must have been raided at least twenty times. But that was not important right now.

Kashiko shrugged and kept moving. Finally, after a few minutes of running, the team came to a halt. Kashiko stopped as he jumped through the door. He found himself standing in the corner of a giant hall. They were standing on a balcony a level up so he could examine the entire place. He looked up to the ceiling… which wasn't there! There was an entire piece of the ceiling missing so that the sunlight from outside could come in. However, it was only a block of the ceiling that was in the middle and that caused the sides to be covered in shadows, especially the balcony. At the end of the balcony there were stairs leading down into a giant, empty, rectangular space. At the opposite corner of the hall was another door leading out. Kashiko look at the end of the hall. A giant statue stood there of a robed woman holding a candle and pointing at something next to Kashiko. He looked over the balcony and saw a stand with a copper box set on it. The box had strange engravings on it – no doubt part of the clan that lived here. Dian-Ming, his leader, waited for Kashiko examined the room and then spoke.

"What now?"

Kashiko turned his head, waiting for one of the other two to answer the question. But when he noticed that they were all looking at him, his heart jumped into his throat.

"Me?" he asked. Dian-Ming nodded. "But I'm a rookie."

"So what?" One of the other two said, but Kashiko's eyes were on his leader so he couldn't tell which one.

"Rookies are meant to be seen not heard," Kashiko answer factually. It was like he was reading from an invisible book.

Dian-Ming smirked but it wasn't visible through his mask. "Yes, but this is a special case. Give it a shot. I take it you've seen the artifact below in the copper box. There are no signs of the Shirai Ryu. What would you do?"

Go get it was what all of them thought Kashiko would say. That is what most ignorant youths would say. But Kashiko was smarter than most youths his age. He was smarter the most of them too.

"We wait."

Dian-Ming raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"This temple is set directly between the Lin Kuei and the Shirai Ryu. If we entered from this door, I have a strong feeling they will be entering from the opposite door at the end of this room. They're on ground level, which already gives us the height advantage. And the sides of this place are dark, so if we stick to this balcony and near the statue over by their door, we can ambush them. So if I had to order you all to be somewhere, it would be two at the statue and one on the balcony. Balcony ninja strikes with shuriken, the enemy backs up to the statue, the hidden ninja take them out. And that's that."

Dian-Ming nodded. "Impressive for someone your age. Anything else?"

"Yes. Speaking from personal experience, I should stay here, near the box."

"Why?"

"I know Daitan; he's an idiot. He'll want to prove himself and bite first instead of bark. When he sees this box, he'll go after it. And I'll be waiting. If we did my plan, we'd let him run passed whoever is on the balcony, but would stop the others."

"Good," Dian-Ming smiled through his mask. "That's exactly the plan we'll be doing."

Kashiko's face dropped. "Wait, I just made that up. It's a spontaneous plan."

"Yes, but it's a good plan. It keeps us safe and at an advantage if it works."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then it means we act on our feet. Not every plan you make will work. No one is smarter than fate. Remember that."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Kashiko, wait here for Daitan. You two go to the statue. I'll stay on the balcony. Move out."

And they did. They got in position and then sat and waited. And they left Kashiko alone with his thoughts. His thoughts of killing another human who he went to The Academy with. And his hesitation to do so. But he has to do it; he has no choice. Such is the life of a ninja…

* * *

Daitan walked into a great hall cautiously. A piece of the ceiling was missing, letting the sun illuminate the area, but there was not much to see. Yang and Jan weren't with him. They had all separated soon after they had entered the temple and Daitan was told to go off on his own but not to do anything too stupid. He grumbled but took off and that is how he came to be here, in this room, all alone. He moved forward and came next to a giant statue that almost touched the roof. It was of a hooded woman holding a candle and pointing at something. His eyes followed her finger and landed on a box at the end of the hall. He ran forward towards the box. This must be the artifact he was after. The box Kashiko would be after. It had to be.

"There's nothing else left in this dump," Daitan mumbled to himself as he stopped.

He looked at the box. It was copper with strange carving on it that he didn't much care about. He moved closer to it, smiling. If he got this, he could use to it trap and kill Kashiko. And then Daitan would get the same attention and praise that Venom gets. To complete such a mission would be good on his record. He'll just take the box and then plan his next course of action. But first… he shouldn't, should he? Then again, he could just take a peek inside the box. How much time could it possibly waste? The Lin Kuei wasn't here yet and he had to know what he was risking his life for. What was so important that the Lin Kuei would send a team for it?

Daitan reached out for the box. His arm stretched out and his hand was moving for the object, slowly, cautiously. He smiled with anticipation. The excitement wanted to make him shiver. He was so close, almost there, a few more seconds. And then… his body went cold and something inside of him screamed to leave it alone. He was under the impression the Lin Kuei were still arriving, but ninja are stealthy creatures. That's when a scary thought passed through his mind: What if they're already here?

Daitan moved back just in time to dodge the kunai knife that would have impaled his skull had he been a second slower. He removed his kodachi from its sheath and skilfully swung it, knocking the next kunai away just as a small Lin Kuei ninja hit the ground. Was it Kashiko? Before Daitan could say a word, the ninja reached to his belt and launched numerous shuriken and then moved. Daitan retaliated by thrown shuriken at the same time and stepping out of the way. The shuriken hit each other and the ones that got passed were dodged. Before Daitan knew it, the ninja was on him, revealing a strange blade that looked like an over-grown kunai knife. Their blades clashed, the sound of metal scraping metal echoing through the room. Daitan moved back as they clashed a second time. He studied his opponent's weapon. The blade was strange, a split of two colours: silver with a tint of icy blue and fiery gold.

Kashiko examined the area with his eyes alone. He didn't dare move his head from facing Daitan. The first thing he thought of where Daitan's team was. The second thought was that if his team isn't here, could they have spotted Kashiko team and were plotting to retaliate differently. Kashiko moved as Daitan swung for him. He then blocked the next attack and tried pushing the Shirai Ryu warrior back but Daitan was bigger and stronger. Kashiko jumped back and moved before Daitan could react. Their blades clashed numerous times as they moved around the area. They dodged – ducking, shifting, jumping – when they needed to and blocked when they could. They both got minor cuts on their opponent, but nothing severe at all. Daitan swung for Kashiko's head, but the boy ducked. Daitan then went down and swung for Kashiko's legs, who just jumped up. What he wasn't counting on was Daitan's speed.

The son of Scorpion spun up and shot his leg out connecting with Kashiko with such force that he flew into the wall. The boy hit the ground, trying desperately to catch his breath. He felt as though he had been hit by three full grown men at once. Why was Daitan so abnormally strong? Kashiko looked up just in time to see Daitan in the air, coming down. The boy rolled out the way as Daitan's blade penetrated the ground. Kashiko got up, just dodging the shuriken thrown by Daitan. But then Daitan threw something else that came as a shock to Kashiko. It was a fireball. And it blew as it hit the Lin Kuei warrior.

* * *

Dian-Ming, Dao and Tuo all stood in an open section above the statue in the great hall. From there they could see the action perfectly. They could see Kashiko watching from the balcony as Daitan entered. They could see Daitan moving towards the box and they could see Kashiko's assault. But what they couldn't see was the two Shirai Ryu ninja behind them. Then again, in the ninja world, not seeing an opponent didn't necessarily mean you didn't know where they were.

"Yang and Jan," Dian-Ming greeted unexcitedly. "Are you two going to stand there all day or come say hello?"

"Dian-Ming," Jan said as he walked up to them. "As enthusiastic as always. Tuo, Dao, hope you two are keep well. I see the brats have started the fight."

"Yes," Tuo replied. "It's about time too."

Dao agreed. "I guess this is the last time we'll be working together on this little project."

Jan turned to Yang and sighed heavily, but it was clearly a joke. "Poor guys, they are truly going to miss us."

"Yang, control your pet," Dian-Ming ordered without turning to the Shirai Ryu squad leader. It was no secret that he didn't like the younger Shirai Ryu warrior.

Jan shot him a look. "That was hurtful."

"Don't worry, Dian," Yang replied as he stood next to the Lin Kuei leader. "You get use to him."

"I'm sure…" Dian-Ming concentrated on the boys as their blades clashed. "They are truly trying to kill each other."

"Of course they are," Jan stated as he sat down and closed his eyes. He didn't feel like watching. "They were ordered to do so, weren't they?"

"Yes," Yang replied. "But it's a test. Their fathers want to see how skilled they are. That is why we are here, to stop the fight if it gets out of control. So stand up!"

"Why?" Jan replied. "Can't you four handle two kids without me? Besides, nothing is going to happen that will warrant our involvement."

And then they heard the explosion of Daitan's blast.

"Did he hit him?" Yang asked, sounding concerned. This situation just got bad. If Kashiko was killed on their watch, they would all be torn apart and might have started a war between the clans.

"It was a direct hit!" Dao shout. Jan stood up, now uneasy. He could see the smoke from the blast slowly rising and only Daitan was visible now. If one of the boys was killed, it could be bad for everyone. He looked around. Every ninja was ready to move – save one. Dian-Ming didn't even bother unfolding his arms.

"Don't move," Dian-Ming ordered. "The boy is fine."

They all looked at Dian-Ming and then down at the battlefield, where the smoke of Daitan's blast was quickly fading. They were so concerned about Kashiko that none of them even the noticed something spark off behind them…

* * *

Daitan watched as the smoke slowly disappeared. He had definitely hit Kashiko, but how severe the damage was would only be clear in a few seconds. Whatever the case, he knew that this battle was over. That hit have given him a great advantage, no matter what the damaging. A wind seemed to come from nowhere and swept the smoke off to the side. He expected screaming now, for Kashiko to be rolling on the ground in pain, blood or charred flesh on the ground. But the first thing Daitan noticed was that the floor was wet with… water?

The smoke cleared and in its place stood a deformed wall of ice with a huge hole in the middle. The ice was melting, soaking the floor and Kashiko was staring at Daitan through the hole that his fire blast had clearly formed.

_He created an ice shield from thin air, _Daitan thought. _That sort of chi is amazing for someone his age._

Kashiko removed his mask. He couldn't help it, he couldn't breathe, he needed to gulp of fresh air. It wasn't the blast that had the problem, but instead the thought of what could have happened had he not blocked it. He could have died! And he was close too. Had he brought his shield up a split second later, he would have been fried.

His blue eyes met Daitan's demonic ones and they just stared at each other until Kashiko finally smirked. "Nice shot, Daitan."

"Apparently not good enough," Daitan replied, removing his mask. No point in hiding his identity now. They both knew who they were fighting. "Good save. Almost had you there."

Kashiko prepared his blade. "_Almost _counts for nothing on the battlefield."

"Don't worry," Daitan raised his kodachi. "I'll get you this time."

They moved for each other swiftly, their blades striking each other, the sound metal hitting metal – and nothing else – echoing throughout the area. Daitan swung for Kashiko's head, but the boy backed away and then flung himself forward, clashing with Daitan, before moving away again.

"Give up, Daitan!" Kashiko insisted. "You're not getting the artifact."

Daitan gave him a strange look. "Artifact? Who cares about the artifact? You're my target."

"What?" But before Kashiko could even finish the word, he had to jump, dodging Daitan's slash. He came down, blades clashing. "You're here to kill me?"

"Of course!" Daitan moved back and then pounced for his enemy, slashing for him three times, missing all three before Kashiko flipped back to safety. "Wait, you think I wanted the artifact?"

"Of course… don't you?"

"No, my mission was… Never mind, let's end this." Daitan was about to move, but Kashiko spoke.

"To kill me and take the artifact as a secondary mission?"

"Ye – yes, how'd you know? You've got a spy in our clan?"

"No, you idiot!" Kashiko sighed as he put all the pieces together. It all made sense now. The Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu had settled their rivalry in the past, but if that were true, than this mission shouldn't exist. But then again, maybe the mission didn't exist. It was all a test. "It's a good thing you have strength in your muscles, 'cause you have nothing upstairs. This has been a wild goose chase by our clans."

"What are you talking about?" Daitan asked, though he sort of knew already.

"It's a set-up, not a mission. We both received the same instructions. And our squads have both disappeared. No doubt they're watching us now, checking how we fight. I've heard of these tests before. This was just to check our skill."

"I knew it…" Daitan said angrily, though Kashiko sensed a hint of hurt in his voice. And Daitan wouldn't admit it, but he was a little upset. He truly thought that for once he could prove himself as a proper ninja, only to find himself on a fake battlefield. "What now? Should we just call out to them?"

"Actually, let's have some fun." Kashiko had this mischievous look in his eyes that Daitan had never seen before. "I bet if we were about to kill each other, they'd interfere."

Daitan smirked. "Want to test that theory? Give them a scare?"

Kashiko readied himself. "You don't even have to ask twice."

They moved for each other again, this time ready to go all out, ready to scare the ones who were watching over them, giving them what they deserved.

That's when Jan's burning corpse landed in front of them.

* * *

Sub-Zero was concern.

After the bomb had gone off, the entire temple went into chaos. People ran to the bomb site to see if anyone had survived, while the guards went up and down the place searching for intruders. Others began thinking of ways the bomb could have gotten there. And as for the victims…

Both of Sektor's men were instantly killed, torn apart by the blast. As for Sektor, the cyborg made it out the room just in time; however, he had taken some damage. Damage, to the extent that he was in a comatose state, busy being repaired by his other two men. It had been two days already and no word. And then there was Sierra…

She was a little shaken up, but Sektor had pushed her out of the room to safety before the bomb went off. She had some cuts and a few bruises, but she was alive and kicking which was all that mattered really. And she was angry, extremely angry, that someone would dare attack the Lin Kuei. So was Sub-Zero. This was an act of aggression against his people and the ones responsible would surely suffer. But who was responsible for this attempted assassination. Sub-Zero's mind travelled to the actual bomb itself. If there was no sign of an intruder, then how did the bomb get there? Unless… but it was preposterous! Or was it? It was the only way the made sense. The Lin Kuei had a…

Sierra burst into the room. "Sektor's awake!"

Sub-Zero bolted out of his chair and down the hall, Sierra behind him. They arrived to the medical wing – Arion, Ura and Narissa were already there – to see Sektor slowly coming back to life. Lights switched on, limbs started moving, he was coming back.

_Good_, Sub-Zero thought. _It was time to get to the bottom of the reason of why Sektor is here. And why someone tried to kill him for it…_

* * *

**Thanx for reading. Review plz.**


	6. Chapter 5: Quan Chi's Trap

**Mortal Kombat: Vengeance**

**The Story:**

Thanx for the reviews. Here's the next chapter. It's quite long but this is where the real story begins so enjoy! Review please and let me know what you think?

* * *

**Mortal Kombat**

**Vengeance**

**Chapter 5: Quan Chi's Trap**

Sektor looked around the room. Sub-Zero, Narissa, Ura and Sierra were all there. Arion apparently had something to attend to but he said he would be with them shortly. That was fine; Sektor had other things to worry about. The cyborg was stiff. That bomb had done quite a bit of damage to him, dangerous damage. It could have easily killed him had he not detected it. Even then, he still almost didn't make it. Two of his men definitely felt its full power. And the death of his guards meant that this situation had just started going out of control.

"Sektor?" Sub-Zero's voice brought the cyborg back to reality. "I think it's time that you tell us what is going on."

"I believe so," Sektor nodded in agreement. "But first…"

"We've already checked the room," Sierra interrupted. She was sitting by the wall, arms crossed, head down and eyes closed. She had a headache and maybe resting her eyes a bit might make it disappear. "There are no bombs."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Good, then down to business," Sektor began. "About four years ago, a group of ninja gathered in the dessert and formed an alliance. The group was originally created to be mercenaries but it quickly grew in numbers and skill. It is now a ninja clan based in Egypt. They are known as The Dessert Demons."

"I've heard of them," Narissa stated. "They just a little ninja clan. But what's that got to do with us?"

"They don't just want to be a little ninja clan anymore." Sektor looked at Sub-Zero. "They want more."

"How much more?" Sub-Zero asked. "Northern Africa? The entire continent?"

Sektor laughed. "Oh, Sub-Zero, you haven't even scratched the surface. They want everything. But first, they want Earthrealm. As a home base."

"Again, the relevance to us is…" Narissa fished for an answer.

"To get Earthrealm," Ura began to answered, "they will need to rid the world of the leading clans: Sektor's clan, The Red and Black Dragon Clans, the Shaolin Monks, the Shirai Ryu and us, the Lin Kuei. Are they going to start a war with us?"

"That's ridiculous!" Narissa objected. "They are a tiny clan with no possible advantage to us. We're bigger, tougher and if they plan to start a war, they'll have to come to us. I can tell you now, some pipsqueak dessert dwellers won't last ten seconds in this frozen wasteland."

"Oh, my dear Narissa, so young, so naïve," Sektor criticised. "What makes you think that the war hasn't started already?"

Sierra's head shot up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that their clan doesn't have an army nearly as powerful as yours – or anyone for that matter. No, they won't strike with force. They'll become a virus. Start killing you from the inside and when you realize what has happened, it will be too late and you'll all probably be dead."

"That's absurd!"

"Is it, Sierra? Anyone with common sense would know that is the way to go. In order to kill something bigger than you, it will take brains, not brawn. Sabotage, silent kills, leaking information. That is how you kill an organisation as grand as yours."

Sektor looked Sub-Zero right in the eye. It was as the grandmaster feared. The Lin Kuei was no longer a safe place and more attacks like the bomb might happen. But Sub-Zero had to know his assumptions were right. He had to hear someone say it.

"Sektor," he began, "what exactly are you trying to say."

"I'm trying to say that there is a traitor in the Lin Kuei," Sektor answered quickly. "And they will stop at nothing to watch you all burn."

* * *

It came out of nowhere and the shock made both Kashiko and Daitan stop in their tracks.

The boys stared in disbelief at the searing corpse that was once the Shirai Ryu ninja, Jan. They couldn't comprehend what had just happened. Then again, what did just happen? Was this another test? Or had the boys been horribly wrong? Maybe this wasn't a test at all. Maybe they were meant to kill each other… maybe their teammates were killing each other right now…

"What the hell's going on?" Daitan shouted as he looked at Kashiko.

But Kashiko's attention was no longer on the corpse but instead at the statue. Or something above it. He felt it. Some power, some wicked power, a power which just appeared out of nowhere. And it was strong, very strong, so much so that he couldn't hide his terror.

"Be ready," he said, trying to sound more confident. "Things are about to get ugly…"

* * *

The other four ninja moved quickly, even before Jan's body had hit the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Dao shouted as he dodged a blast of green flames.

Green flames? Yang only knew one person who used green flames like that: a powerful sorcerer who had attacked the Shirai Ryu once before. A powerful sorcerer that he had once fought. But everything was happening so fast, the attack came from nowhere, Yang couldn't be sure who the enemy was. All he was sure of was that Jan was dead and with no partner, Yang retreated. It would be better if he defended the boys while these three dealt with the threat. He hoped it was going to go well…

The Lin Kuei ninja split: Dao moved to the left, Tuo to the right and Dian-Ming went into the air. The squad leader saw Yang move for the boys. Good, they needed someone to defend them.

The three ninja moved for the enemy swiftly, not wanting him to get any advantage to them. Dian-Ming was first there, shooting his fist out. The enemy shifted, dodging the punch and then spun on his heel, grabbing Dao's wrist as he attacked for side. He continued spinning as his other hand shot out, grabbing Dao's clothes and tossing him straight into an attacking Tuo. Then, in one quick move, the enemy kicked Dian-Ming away with a force that would rival a shokan – four armed, muscle-bound creatures that dwell in the Nether Realms. The enemy turned to find Tuo back on his feet and on the move. The warriors collided, Tuo trying to get a hit on his opponent. But it was a futile attempt; the enemy blocked every attack as though it were child's play before kneeing Tuo in the stomach, punching him, blocking a counter-attack and then kicking the ninja away.

Dian-Ming moved to surprise the enemy from the side, only to have the enemy move back and grab his clothes as he came passed. He leaped off the ground and over Dian-Ming – while still holding him – and proceeded to shoot both legs out, smashing his feet into Dao's face. The enemy spun as he landed, bringing him in front of Dian-Ming. He delivered an upper-cut to the ninja and then proceeded to beat him. The ninja retaliated, but he was blocked and hit, grabbed, picked up and spun before he was thrown over the ledge where he just managed to onto the edge. The enemy took a step back, dodging Tuo again. He grabbed Tuo's arm and swung him to the side, making sure they were now facing each other. He didn't even turn his head as he raised his hand, grabbing Dao's fist.

The enemy smirked. "Nice try, but I got you."

Tuo and Dao grinned. "Not quite," Dao said as they both put their free hands on their trapped arms, allowing chi to flow freely through their clothes. Before the enemy knew what was happening, chains – which were previously wrapped around the warriors' arms and now infused with chi – shot out of their sleeves, wrapping themselves around the enemy, like serpents trying to squeeze the life out of their prey. They tightened, almost cutting into the enemy's skin, as both ninja moved away, still holding onto the chains. Dian-Ming appeared from over the ledge, finally jumping onto his feet. He smirked while he looked into the enemy's eyes and sucked in a deep breath. When he released the air in a forceful blow, it was no longer wind but instead an intense wave of fire which crashed into the enemy, taking him out. Or so they thought…

Dian-Ming ceased his attack, but the fire still burnt. The three ninja waited for the screams of pain and the smell of burning flesh. They waited for the sounds of death, for their enemy's demise. But they found something different. First they heard it as a whisper. And then a chuckle. And then finally, a roaring laugh, mocking them for their useless efforts as the flames died out, revealing a giant, glowing, eerie green skull. It was laughing too, making its creator's amusement that much more demented. And then the laughter stopped and the ninja heard the enemy say something.

"My turn." Tuo felt himself pulled in with an amazing force, his face meeting the enemy's elbow. The enemy pulled him in again and this time wrapped Tuo's own chains around the ninja's neck. He looked at Dao and his chains were set alight with green fire, causing the warrior to release his opponent. The enemy looked forward to see Dian-Ming breathing in again. He just laughed.

"I can do that too." The enemy inhaled, the giant green skull that defended him suddenly being sucked into his mouth completely. And as Dian-Ming shot off his blast, the enemy retaliated with one of his own, shooting off an incredible wave of green flames which engulfed Dian-Ming's blast easily. It would have taken Dian-Ming too had the ninja not retreated to the ground floor where Yang and the boys waited.

The enemy moved back quickly, dodging one of Dao's kunai knives. He drew his own blade, a curved-blade, and hurled it towards Dao's head, but it missed, getting lodged in the wall. Dao moved in front of the enemy and released a cluster of shuriken, but they were blocked when the enemy moved a choking Tuo in the way to act as a human shield. Dao's face went pale as he watched his weapons impale his own comrade, his friend. Dao looked Tuo in the eye, begging forgiveness. But if Tuo had granted Dao's wish, no one would know. All that was in Tuo's eyes now was emptiness. The life seemed to have drained from them as he dropped to his knees. The enemy smirked, slowly sliding his arm under Tuo's chin and his hand up the side of the ninja's face.

Dao shook his head, his eyes pleading. "Don't do it."

The enemy responded with a wicked smile and a hint of pleasure crossed his eyes as he quickly brought his arm back, twisting Tuo's head until there was an unmistakable crack! Tuo's lifeless body hit the ground and Dao lost his control, running straight for the enemy who just raised his hand.

"Enjoy the flight!" he shouted as an invisible wave escaped from his hand, launching Dao into the air and over the edge. The enemy moved for his sword, satisfied by his triumph, not noticing the chains which shot up over the edge to capture him. They wrapped around his body and forced him towards the edge to fall to his death with Dao. The enemy growled – mostly out of annoyance – and grabbed the chains with his free arm, moving back, pulling Dao up. When he was finally in sight, the enemy jerked Dao towards him and released the chains to draw his other blade, chucking it towards the ninja. Dao didn't notice the blade until it was right in front of him and he had no chance to dodge it. The blade impaled his head, killing him instantly. His chains slowly unravelled, releasing the enemy, causing Dao's dead body to start a fall which he wouldn't have survived anyway.

* * *

Everything happened so fast.

First Jan's corpse had made its entrance and then the boys saw green flames erupt from the top of the statue in front of them. Next minute, Yang was in front of them, speaking to them so fast they probably didn't even hear a word he said.

"An enemy has attacked us," Yang briefed. "The Lin Kuei ninja are dealing with him, but be prepared, it is a strong opponent. Daitan, stay back. The enemy is…"

It was at that point when Dian-Ming fell over the edge and gripped onto the ledge for his life. He then pulled himself up quickly after a few seconds and suddenly the area lit up with flames, normal flames, which Kashiko knew Dian-Ming had caused. But any hope of winning disappeared when they heard a faint laugh coming from the battle area and when, a few seconds after, a wave of green flames emerged again, this time Dian-Ming almost becoming a victim. The ninja moved swiftly down the statue, making his way towards the boys. They heard Dao scream in anger and saw him flung over the edge much like his squad leader, but Dao couldn't grab onto anything. Instead, he placed his hand on one arm and chains shot out, winding their way up and into the area, clearly grabbing hold of something. Something that pulled him up and then tossed his lifeless corpse back down with a blade halving his head.

When his body hit the ground, it made a simple thud. But to Kashiko, it might have well have caused an earthquake. It had definitely shaken him up. His insides felt as though they were turning into jelly and his mind was working about fifty different scenarios, all of them ending off with him dying here. He couldn't breathe and he began to feel as though his body was on fire, even though the temperature in the room had seemed to drop below freezing level. Somewhere inside of him, somewhere in his mind, he knew that his mission was a fake. But this… this was all real and it scared him down to his very core. It showed on his face too.

"Try not to pass out, wimp," Daitan mocked cruelly. He was trying to sound brave, braver than Kashiko. He wasn't sure if it was working. And then the enemy appeared and any confidence drained from the boy in less than a second.

He was a tall, well-built man. He was bald – no facial hair either – and his skin was completely white, as though someone had painted over him. He had red markings on his arms which resembled tattoos. Around his eyes was something that looked like black powder from which two black lines went up from his eyes over his bald head. In between the two black lines, more red markings and a red symbol shaped like at upside-down tear in the middle of his forehead – a chakra they called it, if Kashiko remembered correctly. The only armour on his torso was an object that started near the centre of his chest and made its way to the centre of his back, curved spikes sticking out of it. He wore black gloves and long black pants, which tucked into his brown boots. He had metal kneepads which each had two spikes that curved upwards.

Kashiko could feel this man's energy, and it scared him. The man was clearly a sorcerer and a powerful one at that. By the gasps he heard come from the Shirai Ryu ninja, it was safe to say that they knew this enemy. The sorcerer moved off the ledge and down the statue, landing on its feet, keeping him a little higher than his opponents. Kashiko studied the man and, suddenly, it hit him. He had heard stories about this man. He was the sorcerer who eradicated the Shirai Ryu. And Daitan's trembling just proved Kashiko's theory.

"Oh my God…"

"Hello, Daitan," Quan Chi replied with a malicious grin. "So nice to see you again."

Kashiko's head travelled between the two and then settled on Daitan. He was about to say something when Yang jumped in.

"How dare you show your face again?" Yang shouted with a hate in his voice that seemed almost unnatural. "I should…"

"You should what? Kill me?" Quan Chi spat the retort. "Don't make me laugh Yang. You couldn't kill me the first time; you don't have a hope in hell of doing it now. Besides, I'm not here for you. If you would kindly give me the boy, I'll be going."

"Not a chance in hell."

Before Yang could continue, Dian-Ming stepped in. "Does someone want to tell us what is going on here?"

Quan Chi smirked. "Certainly… I am Quan Chi and–"

"I know who you are…"

"As I know you, Dian-Ming. One of the few ninja in his clan capable of manipulating fire with great skill." The Lin Kuei leader seemed taken aback by the response, keeping silent to see what else the sorcerer knew. "Recruited by the Lin Kuei twelve years ago, you quickly made your way up their ranks, getting to become Sierra's personal student for three years. In those three years, she trained you to control your chi and manipulate the fire element. Don't be so surprised. I know all about your friend to." Quan Chi's sight travelled to Yang and his malevolent expression sent a shiver down Kashiko's spin. He wondered if Yang felt the same. "After all, I did kill him once upon a time. Isn't that right, Yang? He is one of the returnees brought back by Scorpion, the disgusting pest. An exceptional ninja and a master of hand-to-hand combat, Yang is a force at close combat. He also a master of swinging-knives-to-hand combat. You kids will understand soon why I say that, because I'll bet my left arm that these two won't go down without a fight."

"You're damn right!" Dian-Ming retaliated.

"It's a shame really." The sorcerer jumped onto the floor, levelling himself with the four ninja. "Had you been fighting someone else, I would understand your confidence. But, make no mistake, if you stand in my way, you will die."

"Back down, Quan Chi," Daitan threatened. "You tried to take me years before and failed. You won't succeed this time. You were beaten by my mother last time. What makes you think you have a chance against these two?"

The mention of Akina seemed to snap something inside of Quan Chi's mind and, in a quick flash of anger, he raised his hand, launching a blast of fire that Daitan easily dodged. However, Kashiko froze as the blast headed straight for him. Dian-Ming grabbed the boy and moved, dodging the blast which blew up the artifact box behind them.

"Shut up, you little bastard! Your mother beating me back last time was pure luck. Nothing more! But that doesn't matter. I have knowledge of these two ninja, Daitan, and knowledge is power in this world. A lesson you have yet to learn."

"How do you know so much about us?" Kashiko managed to say.

Quan Chi chuckled as he walked to Dao's body, pulling his blade out. "And the coward speaks. You were trembling so much at my attack, I thought you'd die standing. If you must know, their information was in the file for this mission. A file that we stole from both clans. We stole the files in hopes of finding the right place to ambush you both. Imagine our surprise that the day we planned to ambush the boys they'd be in the same place, on the same mission. It definitely saved us some trouble."

Our, we, us… it was official: the sorcerer was not alone in this. Kashiko looked Quan Chi in the eyes, trying to muster all the courage he could spare. "What do you want with us?"

"I thought that was obvious, ninja. I want you boys dead. In fact, I need you boys dead. It's nothing personal against you Kashiko," he continued, drawing his other blade as he spoke, "but I can't have some kid interfering with my plans. Not at such a crucial point in time. As for Daitan, well, he has to die, either way. You see, everything is coming together. And I cannot allow any of you to live. It's an unnecessary risk and I would say I'm sorry, but I just don't want to. Now, who wants to die first?"

As if cuing him, Dian-Ming let off a blast of fire, which Quan Chi flipped to the side in order to dodge. Yang was next, moving swiftly towards the opponent. He lifted his arms and out of his sleeves appeared two kunai-type blades. He swung for Quan Chi who ducked and spun, bringing his blade up. Yang deflected the attack and moved for a counter, jabbing at his opponent's head, who just shifted and swung in retaliation. Yang jumped and in a quick movement, landing his foot against Quan Chi's head with such force, the sorcerer went rolling, losing one of his blades in the process. Quan Chi got on one knee and turned just in time to see another one of Dian-Ming's fireballs heading towards him. He rolled out of the way and launched an attack back, not even waiting to see if it would hit.

Yang smirked. "Time to end this."

He threw his blades forward but as his hands released them, rope which they were attached to appeared from his sleeves. They sped towards the sorcerer, who dodged them both. They came back and he dodged one, hitting the other away with his blade. He dodged the first one again, the second slicing a wound across his back. He dropped to his knees with a scream as blood trickled down his back and dodged the next attack with a roll. He got to his feet only to see the blades coming back for more. He dodged and deflected them with skill but he was slowly losing concentration as the blades were getting more cuts on him. Nothing too severe yet, but that could easily change.

Kashiko studied the attack patterns. Those blades weren't normal. Being on rope, there should have only been some limited control. These attacks were too precise, too controlled. Yang was obviously using his chi to control the rope like the Lin Kuei ninja would use their chains.

"I guess that's what Quan Chi was talking about when he said swinging-knives-to-hand combat," Kashiko stated.

Daitan nodded. "Yang is going to kill him."

Don't be so sure, Kashiko thought. This sorcerer took out an entire clan. Kashiko hoped he was wrong, but he had a feeling that this battle wasn't over.

Quan Chi slid across the ground, shifting himself out of the swinging blades madness for a second. He took off towards Yang, ready to kill his enemy for making such a fool of him. But Yang saw the attack coming. He retracted his blades quickly and jumped just as Quan Chi was upon him. He shot his blades down with such force, they impaled the ground where the sorcerer once stood. Yang hit the ground and kicking Quan Chi away, pulling his blades out of the floor in the process. He swung them in circles above his head and then threw them out, but Quan Chi flipped over them, barely dodging the attack.

Quan Chi prepared for the next attack when he felt a presence behind him. He turned quickly, blocking Dian-Ming's blade. He dodged another attack by the ninja and attacked again, almost getting a direct hit. He backed away as Dian-Ming launched himself forward. His foot met Quan Chi's body and the sorcerer fell to the floor. The Lin Kuei ninja moved for him, but Quan Chi raised his foot, connected with the ninja and flipped him over. He got onto his feet as Dian-Ming began to get up. Quan Chi shot out his hands, releasing a green skull of energy which hit Dian-Ming directly, sending the ninja flying into a wall under the balcony with a force that knocked the air straight out of him. Dian-Ming hit the floor and before he could get to his feet, Quan Chi blasted the balcony, causing the rubble to bury the ninja.

Yang appeared in front of Quan Chi, who blocked the next attack on him. The two warriors fought intensely, each trying to get the killing blow on the other. Quan Chi kicked Yang away but the ninja was back in a second. The sorcerer dodged another attack by deflecting Yang's arm. He didn't notice Yang's other arm swing for his heart until it was too late. Quan Chi shifted slightly, causing the blade to miss his heart but penetrate his shoulder. He clenched his teeth so not to scream and dropped his sword. He grabbed Yang and pulled him close, head-butting the ninja. Quan Chi then pulled the blade out of his shoulder and put his foot on Yang's torso, launching the ninja away with one kick.

Yang got to his feet and launched his blades again with their ropes. Quan Chi smirked and raised both his hands up, causing a wall of green skulls to appear in front of the blades, which penetrated the skulls. Quan Chi moved back slightly and clicked his fingers, setting the skull wall on fire which burnt straight through the ropes, separating the blades from their wielder. He them smashed his hands against the ground and the skulls seemed to gain a life of their own, dismantling the wall and moving towards Yang. The ninja tried to dodge them, but they weren't trying to hit him. They were doing something else…

"They surrounding him," Kashiko noticed. "They're going to trap him."

"No, boy," Quan Chi chuckled as Yang was completely covered by the skulls. "They're going crush him."

He stood up and held his hand out, palm facing Yang. And then he started closing his hand, trying to make a fist, his laugh going from a faint sound to a roaring blast as his fist formed. Then the skulls seemed to be trying to do the same thing, trying to close up the space between them. They seemed to get as close to each other as possible, trying to destroy the thing in between them, the ninja that was obstructing their reunion. Daitan watched as Yang was being crushed. And then he heard a cracking sound, like… like bones breaking. Blood spurts shot out of the tiny openings in the skull pile. It was then that something snapped in the boy and Daitan flew for Quan Chi. The sorcerer had brought nothing but pain and suffering to his people and his family. It was time to end this war.

"Shut up!" Daitan shouted in a rage.

Daitan jumped as he reached Quan Chi and shot his fist out, smashing it against the sorcerer's face as he went passed. Quan Chi felt as though his jaw was about to snap off, but he quickly regained his thoughts. Daitan landed on his feet and turned on his heel, swinging his fist for Quan Chi again, who easily grabbed the boy.

The sorcerer laughed, but he was not happy about being hit. "Too bad, Daitan. Time to die again."

He brought the boy closer, ready to knee him so that the sorcerer's spiked kneepad could penetrate Daitan's body. But before the spikes reached his opponent, Quan Chi felt a sharp pain in his back as Kashiko's shuriken imbedded themselves into his skin. Daitan easily deflected Quan Chi's knee with his hand and freed himself as Kashiko moved for the sorcerer, who turned quickly, swinging his foot out. Kashiko went flying back as Daitan jumped into the air, kicking Quan Chi straight in the head. The sorcerer regained his footing and moved for the ninja who just flipped back. Kashiko moved for the sorcerer again and jumped on his back, trying to get his arm around Quan Chi's neck. Quan Chi struggled to get the boy off and Daitan took this opportunity to pound his fist into the sorcerer's stomach. And then gave him an uppercut and then another attack to his torso, followed any other attack Daitan could think off. Normally, Quan Chi could handle a kid's attack, but Daitan's strength was known to be unnatural and his attacks were doing some damage.

Quan Chi was losing his patients. He spun his body around as Daitan attacked again and his fist hit Kashiko directly. The boy let out a scream of pain as Quan Chi grabbed him and launched him in the other direction. He then spun quickly as Daitan attacked and shot his hand out, his palm smashing against Daitan's neck. He tightened his grip and raised the ninja off his feet.

"Got you now, you little bastard!" Quan Chi spat with disgust as he choked the life out of Daitan. Good, he wanted the boy to suffer now. He wanted to see the hopelessness in his eyes as the life left them. He wanted Scorpion to know that his son died a slow death, that his knew that he was going to die. He then heard Kashiko moving for them. "Ah, the cavalry is back. Why don't you join him?"

Quan Chi tossed Daitan into Kashiko with such power that both boys flew back and tumbled away, but Kashiko immediately rolled onto his knees out of instinct and shot an ice blast to the sorcerer, who destroyed it with a wave of his hand. He then launched a fire blast that Kashiko was too slow, too weak, too scared to dodge. Daitan looked up, still trying to breathe properly, and ran for the boy, jumping over Kashiko and landing in front of the blast. It hit Daitan's chest, exploding on impact.

Quan Chi laughed hysterically. "I did it again! I killed him, Scorpion! Oh, how I wish I could see the look on your face when you realize that he is dead."

"I guess some wishes don't come true." A ball of flames erupted from where Daitan's charred corpse should be and hit Quan Chi directly, sending the sorcerer flying backward, hitting the ground as he tried to put the fire on his one piece of armour out. His torso had been badly burnt by the attack and he cursed, using words that no one should hear as he slowly climbed to his feet, watching the smoke dissolve into the air. And after it had disappeared, Daitan was standing there, arms out, with a giant smirk on his face.

"Got you," Daitan mocked.

"Impossible!" Quan Chi's jaw dropped. "I hit you directly. There was no way you had time to block it!"

"I guess I'm just full of tricks," Daitan replied.

"Is that so? Well, how about we test that theory." Quan Chi held his hands out, a giant green skull materializing. "Do you know what makes these skulls? You see, when a living creature dies and passes to the spirit world, some of its spiritual energy is left on this plain of existence. It acts as a portal to the spirit realm for sorcerers and that is why necromancers can manipulate the dead, because we can connect with their energy. These skulls are made from such energy. Now, imagine this. The world was formed billions of years ago. Can you imagine the amount of organisms that have died in this area alone? To siphon all that power would be impossible. It would enough power to destroy ten worlds! But it's fine. I only need a small fraction to kill you two. Let's see you dodge this."

The giant skull launched itself into the sky, where it started shacking and cracking, before it exploded in an amazing eerie green light. Out of the light poured at least fifty smaller skulls, all heading for the boys, who would never be able to dodge the attack. Daitan looked at Kashiko. The youngster was smart, smarter than most people Daitan knew. He had to have a plan. But Kashiko looked frozen with fear. The boy fought well for his age, but he wasn't built for very bad situations. He couldn't move even if Daitan tried to make him. This was it. They were dead. They needed a miracle.

Quan Chi saw the skulls explode as they reached the boys. Normally, this would make his smile, but there was a problem. These skulls weren't flaming, meaning they weren't supposed to explode. They were supposed to crush the boys, like they were crushing Yang. These two were supposed to die painful deaths as their bones were crushed and their bodies torn open by the violent thrusts of the attack, but something must have gone wrong.

"Now what?" Quan Chi groaned.

The smoke cleared and Daitan saw him, standing there, bruised, bloody and beaten, but holding his hands up which had formed a fire wall, blocking the sorcerer's attack.

"Dian-Ming," Quan Chi mused. "Still alive I see."

"Sorry to disappoint," Dian-Ming dissolved his wall, dropping onto one knee as he slammed his hands together.

"Yes, that's good. Pray, pray to all the gods you know. If you pray hard enough, you might die quickly when I begin burning you."

Dian-Ming began to chuckle, annoying the sorcerer. "No, Quan Chi. It is you that should pray."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because I'm about to kill you!" A spark went off in front of Dian-Ming, a fire starting, one that was growing bigger.

"You and what army?"

"I don't need one. You were right about one thing, Quan Chi. I was trained by Sierra because of my connection with the fire element. She taught me a technique as my final lesson, a technique created by The Lady of Fire herself, Delia. As a sorcerer yourself, you must have heard of it."

"What?" Quan Chi mocked. "You're going to summon a second Blaze?"

"Better. Delia created this technique when a small army of chaos dwellers broke into Edenia and provoked a war. Delia was on the frontlines of the battle with minimal support." The fire around Dian-Ming began to take shape and seemed to be gaining a life of its own, blocking two blasts by Quan Chi as he attempted to stop it. "Using this technique, Delia managed to wipe out two thirds of the army. She would have killed the rest but they retreated."

And then Quan Chi realized the technique. "Impossible…"

"No," Dian-Ming said as he stood, a giant flaming dragon now surrounding him. "Quan Chi, I'd like you to meet your death. This is…"

"Hell's Dragon," Quan Chi whispered.

"Goodbye." Dian-Ming held his hand out and the dragon bolted forward towards the sorcerer, who could do nothing but move away.

"What's so great about a giant dragon?" Daitan asked. "He can just dodge it until Dian-Ming's chi runs out."

"That's the thing, Daitan," Kashiko replied as he stared in awe. "There's a reason why it can kill an entire army. It's not an easy attack to dodge."

"Not for you…" Kashiko heard Daitan whisper and it made the boy's mind start working, remembering the events that had just happened, up to the point where Daitan blocked Quan Chi's fireball. Kashiko saw it clearly, Daitan had taken the blast directly and the explosion should have turned him it slush, but instead, Daitan walked away with not so much as a scratch. Did he have some sort of defence that he hid for bad situations? Or was it something else?

The boy's thoughts were interrupted by an explosion. He looked up to see Quan Chi still dodging the dragon, which had fired a flaming ball the size of Kashiko's body towards the sorcerer. Quan Chi shot off two blasts which were just absorbed by the dragon as it charged for its prey. Quan Chi jumped as the dragon approached him and that's when Daitan began to see the destructive power of Hell's Dragon. Out of the dragon erupted another one, heading straight for him, but he barely managed to dodge it. He hit the ground, rolling onto his feet. The two dragons turned and the one dove straight for the sorcerer who rolled out of the way. The second dragon hit the ground, exploding, the earth quaking at the impact. The original dragon moved for Quan Chi again, but this time it split into three as the sorcerer jumped back. The dragons' mouths were wide open, blasting the sorcerer at close range. Quan Chi used the little necro-magic he could muster in those few seconds to block the attack but the impact sent him hurtling through the air, crashing into the ground.

The sorcerer was trying hard to breathe as he pulled himself to his feet. This was getting out of hand. Dian-Ming wasn't supposed to be this much trouble. And yet Quan Chi was staring at the face of three flaming dragons which Dian-Ming had unleashed and there was nothing the sorcerer could do but by his time until Dian-Ming's chi finally gave way. But if that wasn't soon, Quan Chi would be in a world of trouble.

The dragons moved for him again. The sorcerer dodged all three and made his way for Dian-Ming but he wasn't fast enough. Two dragons appeared in front of him and as the sorcerer jumped back, he turned to notice three more coming for him. They had split again! He slipped passed the three and hit the ground, moving away. This was getting out of control. He had to do it, he had no other choice. He clicked his fingers and a pain seemed to run through him as he fell to one knee, clutching his chest where his heart was. He was fine though. The instructions he had received for the spell had said there would be pain, but it was a small price to pay for what would happen next.

The dragons, all five of them approached, taking this opportunity to kill their opponent. Quan Chi jumped back, but hit a wall. He looked at Dian-Ming. The ninja was sweating through his uniform and he was swaying on the spot. His chi was running low and he had Quan Chi in a corner. He would definitely try to finish this now. The dragons dashed for the sorcerer and as they were a second away from killing Quan Chi, the sorcerer ducked. The dragons hit the wall behind him, exploding in a flaming frenzy that would have eradicated an entire group of people. The wall came crashing down over the sorcerer, the entire build began shaking, as though it was about to give way. The explosion echoed through the empty halls of the temple, the jungle outside feeling its wrath. And then everything settled and the three ninja just stared at the rubble as the last few pieces fell.

"Is he… gone?" Kashiko asked, hopeful.

"I don't know," Dian-Ming answered honestly. "Any other opponent and I'd say yes, but Quan Chi is a man with many lives."

"I hope that for our sake he's dead," Kashiko replied. "You don't look like you could take another fight."

"I'll be fine."

"So what now?" Daitan asked, still staring at the rumble, wondering if it was really over.

"Now we wait for a few minutes to see if he resurfaces. If he doesn't, we leave."

"And if he does?"

Dian-Ming looked at Daitan. "Then you and Kashiko run. As fast as you can, you get out of here and head towards the Shirai Ryu compound and tell them what happened. And, above all else, despite your feelings for each other, you watch each other's backs. That is not a suggestion, it is an order. Understood?"

Daitan looked at Kashiko and then back at the lead ninja. He wasn't from Daitan's clan, but right now, he was the only leader the boy had. Kashiko and Daitan's eyes met once more and then at the same, as though reading the others mind, they looked at Dian-Ming and slowly nodded, agreeing with the order.

"Good," Dian-Ming actually smirked through his mask. "It's time…"

The rubble shook. All three ninja turned to face the debris which was now still.

"Maybe it was nothing…" Kashiko suggested.

The rubble shook again.

"Or not…"

It continued shaking, pieces of it falling off to the side, until finally, in one loud roar of rage, Quan Chi burst from the rubble, crazed over his defeat. He looked insane, psychotic, as though something had finally snapped in his warped mind. He had managed to block most of the damage the attack should have done, but the sorcerer looked like something out of hell. Blood trickled down his body from open wounds and he was covered in dust and scrapes. He was bruised all over his body as well. His inner organs felt as though they were liquefying, but he assumed that was the spell that caused that. The spell… his trump card in this situation. He calmed himself with the thought and then stared at his opponents. He even cracked a smile.

"What are you smirking at?" Dian-Ming shouted.

Quan Chi replied with a slight chuckle as he pulled his body from the rubble. "I am very impressed. To think that my fate would be sealed by a Lin Kuei ninja. It's quite astounding. Or it would be if you'd had enough time to finish me off."

"I have all the time in the world."

"I doubt that."

Dian-Ming heard the two boys gasp in what could only be shock but he didn't have time to turn around. He didn't have time to see the enemy. He only knew that he was in danger after the blade had gone straight through his body. Dian-Ming jerked as he felt the weapon slice through him. He coughed up blood, wondered who could have caught him off guard. But then he heard the silent chuckle that he had heard before, the voice that boiled his blood. He knew his assailant.

"Jan…" Dian-Ming choked as his enemy revealed himself.

"Surprised?" Jan asked with a cocky grin. "I am. Didn't think I'd have to save Quan Chi from you." He turned to the sorcerer. "Maybe my faith in your power was misplaced."

"Don't start, Jan," Quan Chi spat. "I hired you, remember that."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just a means to an end. A tool. I get it." He turned back to Dian-Ming's face. "But I get to kill you now, so I can't complain too much."

"You traitorous bastard…" Dian-Ming started. "How could you betray your own clan like this? How could you…"

Jan shifted the blade, shutting the ninja up. "Spare me the loyalty speech, Dian-Ming. I am as loyal to my clan as you are to yours. That's the reason I infiltrated the Shirai Ryu in the first place. So that my clan could always be one step ahead. Everything I do is out of loyalty to my clan, make no mistake about that."

"Who are you?"

"I'm the man who's about to kill you." Jan then put his mouth by Dian-Ming's ear, whispering a final message. "And you know those times when people say, it's nothing personal. This isn't one of those times."

Jan brought the blade up, cut through Dian-Ming's body, killing the ninja in seconds. He ripped the blade out of the ninja and his body hit the ground. Jan kicked it just for good measure – maybe for a little pleasure – and turned to the boys whose blood had complete drained from their faces.

"Wow, you're still alive," he stated with a smile as though nothing had just happened.

"We were thinking the same thing about you," Daitan muttered as he took a step back.

"Yeah, well, don't feel too shocked. Technically I was dead."

"That's… But that's…" Kashiko was at a loss for words. For the first time in his life, he couldn't even think of what he wanted to say. All he wanted to do was scream and run and hide and just pretend none of this had happened. But what was this? What the hell was going on?

"You have something to say, kid?" Jan asked as he wiped Dian-Ming's blood off his blade.

"How?"

"Yeah, I heard you were a curious type. Well, if you must know, Quan Chi placed some of his necro-energy into me. Technically, I still had life force inside of my being, it was just lying dormant. When he used the spell, I bet he looked like he was in pain, probably clutching his heart. That's because he used his own life force to awaken mine. Sort of like a little push. The necro-energy exploded when the spell was activated which revived me and healed my wounds. It's a very ancient technique; I'm surprised Quan Chi could do it. Understand?

"But why?" Kashiko asked as he and Daitan both looked for a way to escape. Kashiko turned his head to the ledged above the portal where a faint green light illuminated the area. Another one of Quan Chi's tricks?

"Because of the plan. It had to look like I was dead so I could be buried at the Shirai Ryu compound. From there, I could sabotage all operations without anyone suspecting me. After all, dead men can't do much of anything. I would rise and sleep in a coffin, sure, but that's the price for power. Now that plan has been screwed up because Quan Chi over here can't handle a few ninja."

"So you are a traitor," Daitan said, his stare as cold as ice.

"Not you too, Daitan. I just explained this; I am loyal to my clan. I will do anything to protect it. Right now, that means bringing down the Shirai Ryu. And I'm sorry, honestly, but to complete my mission, you have to die."

"You're… you're insane!"

"Why? Because I was following orders? You did the same. You came here ready to kill little Kashiko for your clan. How is that any different to what I'm doing? In this world, you will eventually get blood on your hands, kid. If you can't handle that, then you should be grateful about what I'm about to do."

Jan approached the boys with his blade ready, but Kashiko spoke. "Who is your clan?"

"What?"

"I'd like to know who we're dying for."

Jan smirked. "I guess it couldn't hurt. We are known as The Desert Demons. I'm sure you've heard of us at least once in your short life."

"Why are you doing this? What do you have to gain?"

"Enough of these stupid questions," Quan Chi finally shouted. "Kill them already and be done with it!"

Jan turned to the sorcerer. "I'll get it done now! Either shut up or go back to the Nether Realms." Quan Chi shouted back and that began an argument using words that would make anyone offended.

The Nether Realms? Kashiko's eyes widened. He had an idea. Quan Chi's power had just appeared in a flash which meant one thing. He wasn't in the area and then he just appeared. And there is only one way to do that.

"By portal," the boy whispered as he looked at the faint green light above the statue again.

"What?" Daitan mumbled.

"How well can you climb?"

"Better than you."

Kashiko shot him a look, but left that fight for another day. "Just shut up and follow my lead."

Jan turned back to the boys quickly, watching them suspiciously. He was positive he heard them whisper something but all he saw when he looked at them were two boys, slowly backing away from a man they feared more than anything else at the moment. The looks made Jan all warm inside. Fear was the only way to win a war. And by the looks of things, victory was in his hands.

"Where were we?"

Kashiko looked passed both enemies as a pile of skulls which trapped a certain ninja. "You were about to stop Yang from escaping."

Quan Chi was the first to move, suddenly remembering that Yang might still be alive. Jan turned around, shouting something and that's when Kashiko took the opportunity he had created and bolted, Daitan right behind him.

"What are we doing?" Daitan asked.

"Climbing," Kashiko said as he pointed to the statue. "Make sure you get to the top!"

"No, I'll just fall half way," Daitan replied sarcastically.

"If only." Kashiko smirked.

Jan ran for the boys. He was faster, swifter, moving right behind them and then flipping over them, blocking their way as he landed. He threw out two kunai knives, one heading for each boy. The boys shifted out of the way and, as though their minds connected, both threw their own shuriken at Jan. The ninja easily dodged the attack but the boys had already reached the statue. They both jumped, hitting the solid structure and began climbing it, using cracks and other lumps of stone to climb as fast as they could. But Jan was right behind them.

"You think you two can out-climb me?" He screamed. "Not a chance in hell."

"Stop talking and get them!" Quan Chi ordered. "I don't care about the little one, but we need Daitan's corpse. Get him now!"

"Wow," Kashiko exclaimed. "These guys really like you."

Jan swore as he jumped on the statue, pursuing the boys who had now complicated a very fragile situation. If Daitan escaped, they would need another form of proof that they had killed him or the plan would be pointless. And they had worked too hard to lose it all here.

The boys continued their climb, but Jan was getting dangerously close. They moved faster, faster than ever before, adrenaline taking over, dragging them up to the top. They managed to get there and Daitan pulled himself up. Kashiko reach the top too but as he pulled himself up, something else jerked him down.

Kashiko's foot met Jan's face, but the ninja never released the boy's leg. He could feel Kashiko tense, practically smell the fear that shrouded the boy's mind, sending him into a panic. Jan pulled back hard, trying to drag Kashiko down. And he was succeeding, until Kashiko suddenly became hard to pull. And try as he might, Kashiko wouldn't budge. Jan cursed as he looked up, only to see something that shocked him. The thing obstructing him from pulling Kashiko down was Daitan.

He had heard the stories. Daitan had impossible strength, the strength of ten warriors. He believed them to be rumours. He had seen Daitan in battle, in training, in general. The kid was strong for his age, but the strength everyone referred to was impossible. Yet here he was, one boy, using one arm, managing to hold up another kid and a full grown man with a look of determination on his face that Yang had never seen before.

Daitan pulled Kashiko up, lifting the grown man with him. Kashiko, now calmer, draw his dagger and quickly sliced Jan's hand. The ninja was taken by surprise and dropped, just catching onto the statue.

"Okay, we're up here, now what?" Daitan asked after pulling his partner up, but Kashiko was already staring at the answer.

What greeted them was a giant circle of swirling shades of green, spinning in such a way that Daitan couldn't tell if it was going left or right. The portal illuminated the area and Daitan's eyes travelled down to Tuo's corpse. He shivered. This had all gone wrong. Their men were dead and they wanted his life. And this all sounded as though it was just the beginning…

Daitan looked at Kashiko who was heading for the portal. "I'm not going in that."

Kashiko turned, angered. "You have no choice. It's either this or you die here."

"They are going after my clan! I know it. I'm not going to run like a coward so they can win."

Kashiko couldn't help but chuckle, but it was humourless. "Are you joking right now? Is that what this is? Newsflash Daitan, you may be good, but you're leagues below Yang and Dian-Ming, two ninja who were just killed in front of you. You can't help your clan if you're dead." It was at that point that Jan's hand hit the surface of the ledge. "The portal or death? Make your choice." Daitan hesitated. "Now!"

Daitan looked at Jan's twisted expression as he climbed onto the ledge. The man wanted to kill them. The boy turned and ran towards the portal, a satisfied Kashiko right behind him. Jan moved quickly, catching up to them. He couldn't let them it go, but it seemed that one of the boy's reluctance would be their downfall.

Daitan stopped in front of the portal, not sure if he should enter. He turned around but it was too late to change Kashiko's mind. The Lin Kuei trainee tackled Daitan into the portal which swallowed the boys up. Jan jumped after them, only to pounce straight into a wall of ice. He hit the floor, his nose bleeding as he looked up at the portal to see it completely frozen. Quan Chi appeared behind him.

"What the hell happened to the portal?" Jan demanded.

"The boy must have used his abilities to freeze it," Quan said nonchalantly. "It's not a hard technique for a sorcerer."

"But he's not a sorcerer!" Jan queried loudly.

"Yes, but his mother is a sorceress. We all assume the boy to be a Cryomancer and nothing more because of his father. But he also has the abilities to be a sorcerer because of his mother. No doubt she taught him this as an escape method."

"Well it worked!"

"Calm yourself, Jan. Stress is bad for your health"

"Don't patronize me." Jan looked at Quan Chi, expecting some form of anger, some hint of rage. But the sorcerer looked as though nothing had taken place. "Why are you so calm? The boy got away."

"Yes," Quan Chi nodded as he raised Daitan's mask. "That is a setback but we have this. With a little blood and some good acting on your part, we can proceed as planned."

"It can't work."

"Why not?"

"Because the plan was supposed be to drop the dead ninja, the boy's corpse and me at the Shirai Ryu entrance along with a Lin Kuei symbol and allow them to bury us."

"Don't worry; you'll still be dropped off by portal. You'll be holding the mask of Scorpion's dead son, covered in blood and you, the wounded ninja, the sole survivor, came back with tragic news that the Shirai Ryu has been crossed."

"They will never believe that I managed to escape without trying to protect Daitan. I'll be killed on the spot for disregarding my orders."

"Jan, no one said you did escape from the Lin Kuei."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"It will all make sense after I explain it. But, I need you to do me two favours."

"What favours?"

"Well, first listen carefully to your cover. And know it backwards."

Jan nodded. "And second?"

Quan Chi grinned as he revealed a sharp dagger. "Try not to scream. I don't like it when people scream."

* * *

Arion finally joined the table as Sektor requested. Now there were six of them in the room. Sektor, Arion, Narissa, Sierra, Ura and Sub-Zero. Sektor looked around, studying each one of them, their expressions, their body language. He had unloaded a bombshell on these people. To tell someone there was a traitor in their clan was a heavy insult no matter how true the accusation. They seemed to be taking the news rather well, though. Sektor leaned back. It was good they hadn't lost their minds yet. Because if they had, this next piece of information would have killed them.

"Sektor," Sierra spoke. "My son is here now. What is it you wanted to tell us all?"

The cyborg leaned forward, placing his hands on the table, ready to lay everything out for them. "Well, firstly, I suppose you're all wondering how I know there is a traitor in your clan?"

"It crossed our minds," Narissa stated with a rather hostile tone.

"Well, as Ura said before, my clan is one of the leading powers in Earthrealm. As such, it was a target for The Desert Demons. They relied heavily on sabotage to bring me down and that is how we caught their agent – a man who had been my right-hand for many years. He was the last person I'd expect to have betrayed me and yet, there he was, spewing crap about the rise of his clan."

"What happened with him?" Arion asked.

"He was executed, but not before we questioned him for information. Turns out, these desert dwellers have been planning their take-over for at least two years and they have managed to infiltrate other clans not by planting their own men, but by turning operatives within the clans major ranks." Sektor stopped, allowing that to sink in and then continued. "While we searched through his electronic devices – being part of my clan, he had many – we were able to find a location of a man that my right-hand was ordered to assassinate by The Desert Demons. We raided the man's base, but found destroyed devices and burning files. He must have known someone was coming for him, but it did not matter. We still searched his base and from what we found, it looked like this man was a government agent investigating The Desert Demons. While trying to salvage his computer, we recovered a set of encrypted lists. We managed to decrypt the one referring to the Lin Kuei; my men are cracking the rest of them as we speak."

"What did it say?" Sub-Zero demanded.

"It was a list of five people, five Lin Kuei operatives high up in the ranks who could very well be part of the conspiracy to bring down this clan."

The room went silent and they all waited calmly for Sektor to continue. But he didn't. Instead, he leaned back again and looked around the room, examining each of them. Narissa did the same. Sub-Zero was deep in thought, no doubt thinking about the traitor. Arion stared at Sektor with distrusting eyes and Sierra looked at her husband with concern. Ura was writing something in a document. They were all deep in thought and as Narissa looked around the room, she soon realized something that she wished she hadn't. Her face dropped and she looked at Sektor who stared back at her. There were five people in the room; there were five names on that list.

"Hold on," she practically shouted. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?

Sektor nodded. "Yes, Narissa, I'm saying exactly that. That is why I requested Arion to be in the room for this next piece of information. According to this government agent, this list of names he had compiled, The Desert Demons' spy is currently standing in this room." He paused for a moment, taking the time to look at all of them, taking in their shocked expressions. "One of you is The Lin Kuei traitor."

* * *

**Thanx for reading. Please review and tell me what you think.**

**Question: what did you think about the fight scenes?**


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